Pinky Bruiser
by Amaya And Aiko no Akatsuki
Summary: Sakura's life was boring. She wanted something more in life. When her cousins bring her to a roller derby game, she definitely gets more. She starts a fight, gets cheesed by a guy on the hockey team, meets new friends and decides its time for a little makeover. Surfers, derby girls, hockey players and bitter rivals? What else can you ask for? "Goodbye Sakura, hello Pinky Bruiser."
1. That Girl is Poison

**Pinky Bruiser**

**Author's Note: Okay, so I went back **_**again**_** and re-typed this. Now that I have my internet, I can actually go back and edit everything. So, here's the newly revised chapter!**

**Summary:**_ She was nobody, a loser. She just wanted to fit in. When her cousins bring her to a roller derby game, she runs into a skater, causing a fight between two rival squads. If that wasn't bad, a guy on the hockey team named Deidara embarrassed her in front of everyone! When Tayuya said things will change, she meant it. "It's time for a makeover. Sasori, I want to join roller derby." _

**UPDATED/EDITED: May 22, 2013**

**Chapter One:**

**That Girl is Poison**

_**Sakura's POV**_

Growing up, I learned to take a few sayings to heart. The first is an old Japanese proverb: "because of their figure, vain women stay cold." The second is "never trust the weak appearance of a wolf, or the disappearance of a cat—they always come back." And the last is "if you wish to kill a snake, kill it once and for all."

My grandmother used to tell me these things all the time as a child, but I never really understood what they meant. I thought I did, but I didn't really comprehend the actual meaning behind her words until high school. That petty drama from junior high doesn't even compare to the things leading to one of the biggest regrets in my life time. It started the last three weeks of my sophomore year in high school, but didn't become something I regretted until recently.

It started when I met a girl named Tenshi. I met her at prom; she was the date of my step-brother, Sasori. She was thin girl, maybe only 110-lbs at most, with silky black licorice hair, doe-like eyes glinting behind designer prescription glasses, rosy cheeks and a posture that seemed unsure and tentative. The tenor of her voice was as angelic as her name and dripped with a sickly sweet imitation philanthropy that made me want to cringe. She looked so polite, so frail and sweet, that I almost overlooked the way her eyes danced with malevolence whenever she smiled at me. But one thing I learned from experience was that girls never smile a real smile at one another. No matter how close we are or how nice, our smiles usually hold back a snippet of dislike. We usually don't notice it, and we may deny it, but it's true. The negative feelings are in the back of our brains; so far away we don't realize it until later. I didn't like the way she looked at my boyfriend, Haruko, or how she'd set her hand on another girl's boyfriend. But I didn't say anything. And as I watched her flirt frivolously among my friends, I pushed aside my thoughts of distrust to be friendly. Unfortunately, she turned out to be a fox in a tiger's skin. She was the weak wolf I should have been more careful of.

I let her befriend me. I pushed aside all the doubt I had for her because I wanted to be nice. I pitied her; she was so small and I thought I could give her a chance, and Sasori had spent weeks trying to woo her so I didn't have the heart to tell him of my dislike, especially when he finally looked so happy. I put up with her, even when she rejected him for someone he introduced her to. I put up with the way she subtly bragged about her new boyfriend in front of my brother. During the summer, the tension was thick. I stopped talking to her a little after school started again. So did Sasori and all of our friends. No one wanted to be around her or her boyfriend because of the betrayal she had committed. But then I pitied her again. Her boyfriend had dumped her on the side of the road one day for something she wouldn't talk about, so I picked her up and put up with her 3 A. M. phone calls, the random invitations to go to the mall and her constant sobs of "I should have". And although I didn't trust her, she was there for me when I went through a rough patch during the summer, so I did what any respectable friend would do. I was there for her; let her drag me around to the mall and back, accepted those repetitive phone calls. I even helped her and Sasori fix their broken trust. But I shouldn't have done that. I regret allowing her back into my life, thinking camaraderie would be accomplished. She was the cat that disappeared, the snake I should've killed before she lashed again.

She was embodiment of poison. One by one, the males of my friendship circle turned on one another, leaving behind their girlfriends. She led one on, got together with another and dumped the third. Slowly, before my eyes, all my "brothers" turned their backs to each other as if three years of friendship meant nothing. The boys who once meant everything to me had fallen into a war that would not sway. Even Sasori's best friends turned on one another. I stayed away, kept my boyfriend out of her grasp. But it didn't stop her. She appeared at our dates, called him all the time with some excuse, showed up at his house when I was there. Soon I was finding articles of her clothing in his room—a belt, a jacket or sometimes a pair of earrings. And ultimately, the inevitable happened: he fell. And he fell hard.

And when I asked why, all she said to me was, "Okay, so I used Sasori—I admit it. I used all of them. I didn't mean to hurt you." Though the sardonic laughter in her voice suggested otherwise.

She was a hedonist, a girl with a clandestinely poisonous personality and impeccable skills in the art of subterfuge. The taste of betrayal was acerbic.

And that's when I realized what my grandmother's words meant. She was the weakened wolf I should've confronted. She was the cat I should've watched. She was the snake I should've killed.

My biggest regret is letting her re-enter my life.

Maybe if I had stopped her when I could have, I wouldn't be sitting in my room in tears while my boyfriend of a year dumps me.

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Sakura's POV—Monday October 15**__**th**__**, 2012—Suna, California—Haruno-Akasuna Residence**_

I sat on my bed; body completely still, heart beating heavily and breaths ragged. My fingers tightened around my cell phone and I took a shaky breath, "Hello?"

Have you ever had that apprehensive feeling? Like, when you hear your phone ringing and see it's your school calling when you ditched a class that day? Or when you suddenly get a phone call at two o' clock in the morning? That sharp pain in your chest that makes you feel like you're drowning, or at that suspenseful part of a horror movie…the loss of breath you get while your heart nearly explodes from your chest…the clammy, shaky hands…_that_ feeling. That was exactly what I was experiencing as I picked up the phone call from my boyfriend, Haruko. I just felt like something was _wrong_ the moment I looked at the caller ID.

I heard a rough sigh on the other end of the line. I quickly wiped my forming tears away as my eyes began to sting painfully. He knew I was crying right now, I bet. I wonder what he's thinking right now, what he's doing. Two hours ago, he told me he was helping his younger sister Mika with an art project, but I think he's actually on Xbox Live with his friends and that they're listening to every word of this.

The phone shifted a bit on his end. _"Sakura, I'm sorry but I can't just take this anymore! I'm done!"_

My breath hitched and my heart dropped painfully into my stomach. I swallowed my sob and begged him to calm down, to talk to me. I wanted to know why he was throwing away our relationship of one year—one whole year of happiness, love and drama-free fun.

The man I loved gave a frustrated sigh on his end as if I had asked him the dumbest question ever. And in his perspective, it probably was. _"I'm too stressed out right now. I need to focus on the military. I'm getting distracted. Plus, I don't want you to be upset when I leave."_

A lie; I always supported his decision. Ever since I knew him, I knew he was military-bound. And I understood. He was set on joining the Navy the moment he graduated high school, and no one could stop him. Not even me. But I wasn't going to. I wanted him to be happy and pursue his dreams. I supported him because I had a lot of family in the military. My oldest brother Shin was an airman for the Air Force, and my other older brother Ren was in the Marines. A lot of my uncles and grandparents were in the military so I had high respect for them, and I told him this with a strong voice. No shivers, no trembles, just a strong, steady voice. "I support you, you know I do."

His voice turned ice cold and it made my heart hurt even more upon hearing the cold tone. _"No you don't."_

"Haruko you know that's not true! Why wouldn't I support it? You know about my brothers, how they're out on tour…you know I want you to be happy," I immediately argued, glaring at my pathetic reflection in the mirror that made up my closet doors. My shoulder-length pink hair was messy from walking home from a windy day, and my eyeliner smeared down my pale cheeks. And my shirt—Haruko's shirt, I mean—was too baggy on me and my black legging-like skinny jeans had brown stains on the knees and bottoms from the mud I slipped in earlier.

"_Sakura,"_ He breathed as if it hurt him,_ "I love you so much. But right now I can't handle a girlfriend. Please understand."_ Haruko's voice had become softer now, and there was no hint of the coldness he had exhibited just moments ago. _"If I wasn't joining the military, I'd stay with you."_

My tears fell silently, and I clutched my chest in pain. It hurt to hear him say that to me because I knew that was a total lie. So I asked him again. I told him to cut the bullshit, stop sugar-coating it and tell me the real truth. Just two days ago, we were at Disney Land having the time of our lives, screaming and laughing in pure joy with Sasori and a few other friends. It was my first time going. It was one of the best nights I've ever had and he was the reason I went. He held my hand so tightly, held me so lovingly…so why was he doing this so suddenly?

He paused as if he were thinking about it. Either that or he was hesitating. He knew he was cornered now. I had just pointed out a big flaw in his little lie. He said he couldn't handle me anymore and because he didn't want to hurt me while he was gone. But when we were at Disney Land, he couldn't stop talking about moving away from the city we lived in and starting over in a new city. He kept saying he wanted to take a road trip during the summer to Yosemite and to San Francisco.

So why is it that two days later, he couldn't handle me anymore and wanted out?

Impatient with his silence, I said, "Is it another girl?"

That instantly caught his attention. _"What? No—of course not! Sakura, you're perfect to me, and no other girl could ever make me feel the way you do."_

I frowned; another lie. "Then _why_ are you breaking up with me and lying about it? It's Tenshi again, isn't it?"

"_No, it's because you're too clingy."_

My eye twitched angrily. What a _typical_ breakup excuse. _"You never give me space; I feel suffocated. At first, when we got back together you were perfect. Then recently you began getting clingy."_

Offended by his remark, I shut my eyes and counted to five. I had a nasty temper sometimes, and I wasn't about to have my first fight with him. Yes, that's right. This was our first fight. I wasn't perfect—no one is. All girls—and guys—are clingy to a certain degree. It's called jealousy. Now, I wasn't so clingy that I never let him go out or checked his phone or anything like that. In fact, I constantly asked him to go out with his friends and he'd always refuse. He'd always say he'd rather spend time with me. Sure, sometimes I'd feel really insecure and wonder if he was with a prettier girl, but most of us girls do. My last relationship before this was a bad one. It was filled with nearly two years of abuse and infidelity. My ex, Kei use to scream at me for every little thing, and he'd hit me constantly. He called me ugly, fat and stupid then sleep around with other girls. So you can expect some insecurity issues after that. But I never _ever_ questioned him when he was with his friends, I never checked his phone of his messages, and I never saw him more than twice a week.

"I told you to tell me to back off if I was bothering you."

"_Oh I did; you never listened to me."_

I didn't want to fight, and I didn't want to lose him. We've been together for so long, and only took one break during the entire relationship of a year. It lasted a few weeks before we got back together and we were stronger than ever.

"_Stop making this difficult."_

"I'm not making this difficult," I snapped. "I don't want to fight. Let's just take a break and get some space okay?"

He said no. It scared me to death how calm and uninterested he sounded. My heart pounded louder within my chest in a newfound fear while my eyes resumed their burning and glistening. So I asked him why. I probably wasn't doing the right thing, and I might be making it worse. But I couldn't help it; it was so sudden and spur of the moment so of course I wanted to know. When I look back at in a few months or years, I'll probably smack myself in the head and laugh at how pathetic I sounded, but right now I couldn't care less.

"_I just don't want to be with you anymore. After breaking up with a girl once, I only give her one more chance and that's it. You lost your chance."_

That was total bullshit and he knew it. For three years, he put up with the female equivalence of my ex, a girl named Ayame who cheated on him _multiple_ times, who used up his money as if it were water and much, much more. This only seemed to anger him when I pointed it out as he was yelling at me now. He cussed and yelled, and eventually hung up on me. When I heard the _beep_ signifying the end of our call, I dropped my phone on my bed and sat there, numbly. It was so strange how affected I was. I've been through my fair share of breakups in middle school and freshman year, but they never hurt this much. He told me he loved me—he was the first guy I ever said it to, and he was the first to say it to me.

I was so foolish to believe that.

I just sat there for a long time before I finally left my room in a zombie-like trance. I went down the hall and through the door just a few feet away from mine. I didn't bother knocking, I just walked in. When I opened the door, my step-brother looked up with an annoyed expression on his face. He was playing a video game on his PlayStation3 and was probably annoyed that I not only barged into his room without knocking, but because I must've distracted him. But when I just shut the door and plopped onto his futon that was identical to mine and stared at his television blankly, he refocused on the game as if I hadn't just barged in.

"What's up Squirt," He asked, doing a quick hair flip to get the excess bright red hair out of his face. I didn't answer immediately because I was too shocked and hurt to really answer and because I was still trying to get a hold of this myself. Sasori paused his game and turned to me fully, giving me a serious look. "What's wrong?"

My step-brother Sasori was a very unique person. He was only a few months older than me and taller by two or three inches, and he had this really bright red hair that spilled messily down his neck with one lock by his left ear longer than the rest set in a braid. His eyes were this unique hazel color that seemed to change color in different light so sometimes they were dark brown and other times gray with dark brown spots just like his mother's eyes. He wore a lot of jewelry: one pair of medium Stretchers and three rings in the cartilage of his ear, three or four rings on each hand and a dog-tag necklace around his neck. He was very handsome, even to me. And his mother looked very beautiful so I assumed he got his angelic looks from her. He was a great brother to me and he loved me very much and vice versa. He was a laid back person and liked spending his spare time skating or listening to music. And he was pretty smart, too. But his constant sarcasm gets a little annoying sometimes.

I couldn't hold back my tears anymore and just glared at the tan carpet beneath my feet. "Haruko dumped me," I finally said. I felt his arm wrap around me, and it felt weird because Sasori wasn't the kind of person to hug someone. But I accepted the show of affection by burying my face into his dark red shirt. I hated crying; I was such a crybaby. That's why I was always picked on back in elementary school. I seemed to cry for the stupidest reasons and never seemed to stop.

"Hey calm down," He quickly said, tightening his grip around me. "Your anxiety Sakura. Just breathe; stop crying. Okay just _breathe_." I nodded and did as he was told. I had bad anxiety, and feeling so overwhelmed with emotion was very bad for it. I've had anxiety attacks before, and they terrified Sasori. I've always been a shy and soft child. I was sensitive to yelling and such, and the abuse Kei put me through only made it worse. Sasori was scared of seeing me mid-anxiety attack, almost as if it were a phobia. I don't know why, and I don't think I'll ever know why. But he always seemed to freeze up and panic.

When I calmed down, Sasori asked what happened. I told him everything that happened during mine and Haruko's conversation.

In the end, Sasori had a deep grown on his face. "That's such a stupid reason to break up. But if he's really stressed out give him space and he'll come around."

I looked at him tiredly. "How can you be so sure?"

"Well I'm a guy," He muttered, "But you guys took a break before and I know him. We've been friends for three years." Then he pushed me an arm's length away and smiled softly, "Besides, what's the worse he can do other than not take you back? Nothing."

I looked off to the side. My ego was hurting just as much as my heart. I wanted to believe Sasori, and a part of me did. But I couldn't shake this feeling that it wouldn't happen the way he or I thought it would. Why would he want to go back to someone like me? I wasn't the most attractive girl in the world, but I wasn't hideous. I had long-ish pink pale hair and my skin was pale and riddled with ugly scars especially around my ankles from when I use to figure skate. I was short and a little overweight. I should be 130lbs, not 143—I felt so ugly. I know beauty is only skin deep but I couldn't shake the insecurity. I use to be active and happy and _pretty_; when I was seven years old my dad enrolled me in figure skating lessons while Sasori took up ice hockey at the same place. And when I was in middle school I played a little bit of volleyball but was taken off because I was too short. I hadn't done much physical activity since other than doing P. E. freshman and sophomore year, so I _had_ gained a bit of a belly. I wasn't overly overweight and I should be grateful, but it bothered me.

Another problem was my personality. Who did I belong with? What was I in society's eyes? What clique did I belong to? I didn't know. I don't know where I belong right now. I didn't wear dresses or skirts often so I wasn't girly, but I didn't play sports and liked doing my hair and makeup so I wasn't a tomboy. I wasn't a fan of rap music or pop, and I didn't really listen to scream-o or punk music. So what was I? Sasori was easy to "classify". His clothes were mostly band shirts and skinny jeans and reflected his apathetic "don't fuck with me" attitude. He was the kind of guy old people shook their heads at, yet was so laid-back, polite and cool that everyone who met him—young and old—loved him. According to the "norms of society" he was what we'd consider a true skater, a punk, a reject…a delinquent even. I know you're probably thinking I'm being ridiculous for wanting to fit in with a clique and stuff, but here, reputation and belonging is everything. In high school, we're supposed to find who we are, aren't we?

So I looked up at my brother with a defeated look and asked, "Who would want to be with me?"

He put a hand on my pink head reassuringly with a small, almost unnoticeable smile gracing his features, "You'd be surprised."

And so begins my rant of why no one would want me. I told him everything I just thought about—my weight, my awkward personality and my inability to fit in. He just gave an annoyed sigh and instead of completely denying what I said, he just shrugged and said, "Sure you're a little fat. It happens. Suck it up and jog around the block. Besides, it's not that bad you know. Most guys like girls with meat on them. You wanna find friends? Go talk to people; Haruko isn't around to guide you around anymore so walk up to someone and talk to them."

Sasori never took the time to talk to me about something like this. Usually when I had a guy problem or a "feminine" problem as he calls it, he'd tell me to "talk to mom" and stay out of it. But this time, he actually listened to me and gave me advice…even if it was just him telling me to "jog around the block". He must've been really worried about me. It touched my heart that he was doing this for me so I smiled kindly, my tears completely dried away. "Thanks Sasori."

He nodded and leaned back on his folded-up futon whilst un-pausing his game. "Yeah that's what I'm here for. You wanna play?"

I leaned back against the futon in a mimicked posture as him. "Depends what we're playing."

His eyes were trained on the large flat screen he had gotten for Christmas and his thumb was rapidly pressing at the buttons on his gray controller. "Right now I'm playing _the Walking Dead: Survival Instinct _butI can pop something else in if you want," He replied indifferently. "I actually just bought that one game…uh _Dead Rising 2_ if you want to try it out. I bought it after school; I had some cash leftover from buying from Sean."

Sean was Sasori's dealer. Sasori had a tendency to smoke sometimes. I didn't smoke, and I wasn't one of those people who were annoyed by smokers. I just never had the nerve to try. I've always thought about trying but never really did it. Just like how I always wanted to pierce my lip or try some alcohol but never did it. I chickened out all the time.

Sasori gave me a look before saving his game and grabbing his black backpack from the floor. He dug through it for a moment before pulling out a _GameStop_ bag then replaced the disk in his system with the one in the bag. He let me take the first round. And I have to say, I hadn't laughed so much in my life. It was just so much fun to play. I was being swarmed by zombies left and right and swinging anything I could get my hands on as a weapon. Purses, guitars, tricycles…they all became my weapon in this game. I don't think Sasori and I have ever laughed so much together before; this was probably one of the only times we actually ever hung out together without other people. We were laughing and messing around like there was no tomorrow. We didn't pay much attention to the mission, just played around. I'm pretty sure our parents were sitting in the living room with amused expressions on their faces. It was weird…but at the same time I liked it.

When my turn was over, I handed the controller to him and he picked up where I left off. And as I laughed with him, I couldn't help but let my thoughts drift back to Haruko. Was he laughing right now too?

**Pinky Bruiser**

I didn't go to school the next day. I was too filled with grief. Not just because of Haruko, so please don't assume that. I was actually about to leave to school with Sasori and our friend Hachiko when our parents got a phone call from the nearby military recruitment center. It wasn't a good-natured call, either. Sasori and I had to face the ugly truth that Ren, our older brother, had passed away. He was the one who was in the Marines; he had committed suicide out of severe depression. He had PTSD and had managed to avoid protocol for treatment. No one expected Ren, the happy-go-lucky womanizer and big-brother figure to everyone who knew him, to have been traumatized by the scene of his friend returning to base in a chopper, body charred and oozing with shrapnel caused by an Improvised Explosive Device detonating during a routine perimeter security detail.

I did the first think I could think of: I called Haruko. He didn't answer at first, probably asleep. But ten minutes later he called me back with a sleepy voice. I told him what happened and the sleep instantly left him. He didn't believe me at first. He said Ren had talked to him last night and refused to believe Ren succumbed to depression. Haruko was close to Ren, and they talked all the time. So I knew how hurt he was. And even though they weren't related by blood, Ren and Sasori were closer than anyone I know. Ren and Sasori looked so similar that looking at the latter hurt. They both had red hair styled similarly, serious facial features, and the "cool guy" attitude. The only difference was that Ren was paler, had green eyes and was more of a womanizer and jokester than Sasori.

But anyway, when Haruko finally believed the painful truth, he cried. I cried too. For an hour, we cried and comforted each other until he had to leave for work. He didn't attend high school anymore as he had graduated last year and now worked at a local fast-food joint in town. Well, when he got off the phone, I cried myself to sleep while Sasori went off to skate.

That's another thing about Sasori…he's always skating around. His roller blades were his babies and skating was his art. If he wasn't wearing roller blades, he was at ice hockey practice. If he wasn't doing that, he was either out with his friends or playing his guitar at home. At least he has a way to get away from the pain while I sat here and cried like the crybaby I am…

**Pinky Bruiser**

The months passed by quickly; Sasori's 17th birthday seemed to come a week after Ren's funeral, and my 17th birthday felt like it lasted one-hundred nights and zero days. It was long, boring and dragged on forever. I never felt so lonely.

With spring came all the depressing things that could've possibly happened. We had buried Ren in the family plot above his son who died in the Japan earthquake last year and beside the three-layered grave belonging to my infamous aunt Riza, her once successful son Ed and their dog Money. My dad's company had gone belly-up so he, like hundreds of others, was let go. Sasori's mom Nika became the only form of income. Then Sasori got into an accident during one of his hockey games. He broke his collarbone and leg. If that wasn't bad enough, the expenses from the funeral and Sasori's hospital bill left us unable to pay rent so we were being evicted. We were heading for Konoha, a small town where I'd spent my infanthood so we could also help take care of our Grandma Chiyo as well as be around our family. But honestly, I was _glad_ we were leaving this God forsaken place!

Not only had we had so much bad luck with finances, but school was terrible for me. Not only did I have to see Haruko every day when he met up with his friends who still attended my school, but I became the laughingstock of the school. He'd been lying to me, playing me like a fool. He and Tenshi were seeing each other even after she admitted to using all of his and Sasori's friends. Not only that, but she had been with Haruko the day he dumped me. They were in his room, watching a movie. She admitted it one day when she walked into the girl's bathroom where I was taking my anxiety medication. She also admitted they've been sneaking around behind my back when we were together. I don't know what was the cherry on top—the confession or the rumors that went around following it. After telling me she'd been sneaking around with Haruko, she cried to him, telling him I jumped her in the bathroom that day and promptly dumped him.

He didn't take it very well and had confronted me during lunch that day and yelled at me. I couldn't handle it, and my anxiety was beginning to rise. Sasori tried calming him down, but Haruko just wouldn't stop screaming…he called me all these names and got into a fight with Sasori. I remember sitting on the gray bleachers, watching my usually stoic brother and the guy I was in love with dancing around each other with punches aimed at each other's face, watching as a hundred faces cheered them on.

I remember the smug look on Tenshi's face as she watched.

Then everything just blurred and I found myself on the ground. I remember hearing Sasori's voice yelling my name and hearing the whispers around me. My anxiety had the best of me and I had a severe anxiety attack that sent me to the hospital. When I returned, everyone looked at me differently, as if I was the very grunge of the city. Girls snickered at me as I walked past, rumors were written on the bathroom stalls and Facebook became a medium for indirectly mocking me. Everyone called me an attention-whore. They said I was doing this so Haruko would feel guilty for me and take me back. They made me look like the bad guy while Haruko and Tenshi went on being themselves. Sasori had been expelled for fighting and therefore kicked off the hockey team.

I was so embarrassed and lonely. I was one person against the world. At least in Konoha, most of our family is there. Our cousins Fubuki and Tayuya are there, and Konoha was supposedly the perfect place for us. As of now, even thought I want to curl up and die because of the disastrous luck we had, I had to hide my tears and help Sasori pack up my room. Hopefully things will be better there.

I can only hope.


	2. Save it Forever

**Pinky Bruiser**

**Summary:** _She was nobody, a loser. She just wanted to fit in. When her cousins bring her to a roller derby game, she runs into a rival skater, causing a fight between two rival squads. If that wasn't bad, a guy on the hockey team named Deidara embarrassed her in front of everyone! When Tayuya said things will change, she meant it. "It's time for a makeover. Goodbye Sakura, hello Pinky Bruiser."_

**Things to Know**

**Maro Mayu:**_ Maro Mayu are red, circular marks noblemen from the Heian era painted on their foreheads to identify themselves._

**Micro-dermal Anchor Piercings: **_these aren't exactly piercings per say. They're more like studs that have a 'T' shaped end. The practitioner digs a small hole for the anchor to go in, and the skin heals over it like a regular piercing. They cannot be taken out alone. A professional is the only one who can take it out._

**Monroe piercing:**_ a single piercing on the top left side of the upper lip. It's named after Marilyn Monroe's mole on her lip. Commonly mistaken as a Madonna piercing which is on the opposite side—the top right side of the upper lip._

**IMPORTANT Author's Note: Okay, so I went back **_**again**_** and re-typed this. Now that I have my internet, I can actually go back and edit everything. So, here's the newly revised chapter!**

**Omg I graduated today guys!**

_**UPDATED/EDITED: May 23, 2013**_

**Chapter Two:**

**Save it Forever**

_**Sakura's POV**_

My family always had the biggest parties on the block. When I lived here in Konoha many years ago, we'd have parties every chance we could; Easter, Christmas, birthdays, graduations, etc. It was just something that my family was known for back then. Every week or so my dad, my brothers Ren and Shin, grandparents, the family dog, Nana, and I would pack ourselves into our 1993 Chevrolet S10 pickup truck dressed in our nicest, casual attire and drive ten to twenty minutes to one of my relative's house.

My dad's side of the family is Filipino while my birth mother, Mibuki was Japanese. Ren and Shin's mother had died before I was born of lung cancer from constant smoking, so I didn't know her. Mibuki walked out on us back in 1997, when I was about three years old and before she could marry my dad. She hadn't had anything to do with me until three years later but by then my dad had met Sasori's mom, Nika. When I was about five years old I started visiting my birth mother on the weekends, but I wasn't very happy around her; especially since I didn't really know her.

For a while, I hated her for leaving me behind because she ended up having five other kids and married their father. There were three boys and two girls. I felt like she abandoned me because I wasn't good enough for her, but those other kids were. She, like Ren and Shin's mother, didn't marry my dad. She had walked out on us to marry my step-father and give birth to my half-brothers and sisters…I blamed her for all my problems. I blamed her, thinking that things would have been better if she hadn't abandoned me. Then I blamed myself for her leaving, thinking I was such a terrible, ugly child that she couldn't possibly love me which is why she had disappeared for ten years.

So I was always mad at her, didn't want to talk to her and stored her pictures away so I wouldn't be reminded of her…but eventually I forgave her. After finally confronting her about it, she explained she was only 15 when she had me and was scared—she wasn't ready for a kid…and I understood. It's confusing, yes, because of all the kids and step-parents and mothers, and sometimes I still don't like thinking about my mom, but that was my parents.

My mother and my stepfather (a man from North Korea) had moved to Florida with my half siblings when I was in middle school so the only times I've ever talked to her at that point were via telephone call before dinner. "Out of sight, out of mind" comes to mind.

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Sakura's POV—July 15, 2013…12 Noon—Chamomile Ct.—Haruno-Akasuna Residence**_

The house was crowded; way too crowded in my opinion. Mine and Sasori's family and neighbors crowded our house, welcoming us to the neighborhood. Dad wasn't kidding when he said he had a lot of friends and family here. Our house was completely packed! I mean, most of these people are family I've seen and grown up around for a good portion of my life (from when I lived in Konoha back when my dad was still with my mom), but there are family members and family friends I've never seen before, too! We moved in about a month ago and finally finished unpacking when my nosey aunts decided to invite themselves and other family members to inspect our house. So my dad turned it into a party.

I had just come from my room upstairs after changing from a desperately needed shower and saw about thirty people already here. Sasori was walking around, greeting family like the respectful son he was, so I joined him. I hugged one of my aunts, Lolita, and greeted her daughter Tayuya and Tayuya's boyfriend Kimimaro.

Tayuya was about my height with a beautiful peachy skin tone. Her hair spilled down to the small of her back and was a rich shade of dark pink that bordered pale-red that she teased randomly. Her eyes were large and doe-like with long lashes and were rimmed all around in black. Her body was thin and flat, accentuated by the form-fitting black and hot pink shirt she wore. Her legs were also long and toned as you could tell in her trademark black skinny jeans. You could also see a pair of stud piercings on her collarbones. I believe those are called micro-dermal anchor piercings. I remember looking up piercings because I wanted one on my belly button two years ago and never got it.

Kimimaro was much taller compared to me and Sasori, but his face was set in the same serious expression Sasori always had if not more stoic. His skin was very pale, so pale you'd think he was sick. His eyes were sharp and an oddly vivid shade of pale green that actually looked gray while his eyebrows were thin and perfectly formed with a pair of crimson tattoos called _Maro Mayu _above them. And his shoulder-length white hair was layered with hints of faded purple every now and then. And a tattoo shaped like three curved lines extending from one center point poked out of his plain gray shirt.

I hugged Tayuya tightly as the last time I saw her was last Christmas at the family Christmas party then shook Kimimaro's hand as it was our first meeting. Sasori did the same.

"Oh Sakura, Sasori, it's so nice to see you! You're so big now. You'll be going to school with Tayuya I bet," Aunt Lolita said, sipping her wine glass. Oh no, every time she gets drunk, she goes for the karaoke. And of course, being Asian, we had one.

Sasori gave her a tired smile, "I think so. Who else is here aun…-sigh-never mind…?" She had walked off, wine sloshing around in her glass before Sasori could finish his sentence. I sighed; why did my older family members find it so crucial to drink so heavily in the middle of the day? The only thing that ever held me back from taking a sip of alcohol was the fear of becoming an alcoholic…and getting in trouble. You know what I mean?

"Mind if we chill with you," Tayuya asked with a bored yawn that made a tiny tear form at the corner of her eye. Sasori and I shrugged and continued greeting people with her following us, boredly doing the same while Kimimaro sat on the couch awkwardly. It was a routine by now for everyone. When you go to a family party, you greet everyone even if you've never met them before. If not, one annoying, snotty aunt will confront your parents about you being a "disrespectful little brat" thus making your car ride home hell.

Finally, when we had free time, the three of us joined Kimimaro with sodas in our hands and watched the movie that was playing. The four of us stayed kind of quiet—Sasori and I were always the quiet ones in our family of whack-jobs. Tayuya was only staying quiet because Fubuki wasn't here and Kimimaro just…seemed naturally quiet like Sasori. Usually, when Sasori, Fubuki, Tayuya and I were together, we were chatting away like no tomorrow or doing something stupid. Well, we girls chatted and Sasori did something stupid if he decided to join us.

I heard music blaring downstairs in the garage; my dad and his brother Miku were deejays back in high school for a group that became popular called Spintronix. Since they still do gigs on the weekends there was a lot of deejay equipment in the garage. Our garage also had a black U-shaped leather couch, a refrigerator, a red punching bag Sasori uses all the time, and is where my pit-bull Brownie sleeps. The owner of the house doesn't like the dog inside, but says the garage is fine for her. Sometimes, we slip her into the house to play. But right now, family members who brought their dogs left them in the garage with her so she could play.

As much as I was annoyed with my family, and as much as Sasori and I say we hate them, we actually do love them in our own way; they were so animated and weird that you just liked them. When my dad's four sisters get together, they drink glass after glass of wine until they're stumbling over their feet and singing Michael Jackson songs on karaoke; the men just watch from the sidelines, making fun of each other's wives and sisters while their kids (my older cousins) get drunk in the garage, and lastly their kids (my younger cousins who call me and Sasori aunt and uncle) ran around the house causing mischief. Before Tayuya and Fubuki moved close enough to attend family events, Sasori and I were left alone. All our cousins were so much older than us that they could have kids, drive and drink so we didn't exactly have anything to talk about. To put this in perspective, while Sasori and I were in 5th grade, the youngest out of our cousins was already a sophomore in high school.

So at parties and stuff Sasori just ran errands for any of the adults who needed a few sodas or a stack of paper plates at the last minute, or he played with his PSP on the couch with our younger male cousins watching intently and headphones plugged in. But right now Kimimaro and Sasori were talking about…something. I wasn't paying much attention as I was more interested in the movie.

**Pinky Bruiser**

"Hey," The four of us looked up and saw our missing cousin, Fubuki.

She was tall and thin with shoulder-length hair as dark as Tayuya's but with purple highlights. Her large green eyes were a dark olive color with a brown "birthmark" in the left one and were rimmed darkly in black liner and accented with a smoky eyeshadow. Her outfits were always plain and simple like her dark gray V-neck paired with black leggings cut straight down the leg with thin ribbons holding them together like a corset, a pink belt and ankle-length boots. She liked wearing simple outfits because she says her body is the accessory. Her pale cheeks had just the right amount of bright pink blush and her dark red lips bore a shiny Monroe piercing. She had an interesting tattoo on her bicep of an hourglass surrounded in dozens of tiny flowers, swirls, designs and some other things that would take forever to describe. And the bottom left portion of her lip bore four black micro-dermal piercings in the shape of a diamond, and her ears had four or five different earrings in each.

Her body was a living canvas, each individual piercing and tattoo bearing an important meaning behind them that she would take to her grave.

I smiled and hugged my cousin after Tayuya and Sasori. She sat on the coffee table in front of us and we started catching up on what's happened since the last time we saw each other. Even Sasori talked to us about what's been going on in his life.

We discovered Tayuya had joined the girl's varsity volleyball team at the school we'd be attending, but had quit before the season actually started because the opponents she played often complained to referees about her breaking codes and violations because of her "distracting" body art being left uncovered. Of course, Fubuki was upset, but she didn't seem to care much. Tayuya on the other hand, told us about how this girl she was friends with totally played a friend of hers named Gaara to date some guy…I think the girl's name was Aya or something like that. Oh, and she said she and Aya got into a cat-fight during school hours when she found out and Tayuya was suspended for three days for being the aggressor.

Then it was my turn.

When I told them about Haruko, both girls went on about how stupid he is and how I'll find better while surprisingly, Kimimaro and Sasori mumbled on about how he's a "pussy" for not only dumping my via phone call, but also for lying and dating my "friend". Kimimaro had said that all guys know dating an ex's friend is only trouble and is "against the rules" and dating an ex's friend before she's your ex is even worse. It greatly surprised me that the two were paying attention to me and what I said, and that they had something to say about it.

"He's a douche-bag. If he were at Ocean High, everyone would kick his sorry ass," Kimimaro said with an annoyed face, "A real man wouldn't play a woman's heart like that —he's just a kid. There's cooler guys at Ohs; stay away from assholes."

I honestly wasn't so sure if I felt the same way about Haruko as they did.

I mean, yeah, he is a jerk for what he did, but I didn't blame him entirely. I Tenshi for baiting him and doing it in the first place, and I blamed myself for pushing him into her arms. Fubuki called me stupid for believing that. She said I needed to forget him and find someone else. I wanted to, believe me I do… but at the same time I didn't. I didn't want to set myself up for another disaster like this. And a part of me really wanted to get back at him and my so-called 'friend' for hurting me the way they did. You know, like revenge in a way for double-crossing me. I just didn't know how.

Tayuya placed a hand on my shoulder, rocking me from my thoughts. Her eyes were gentle, her pink eyebrows furrowed and her expression one of love. She knew what I was thinking about, I can tell from the way she squeezed my shoulder. That, and she usually never looks like this; she always has a smirk or glare on her face, never a sad or worried look.

"I know it seems like that asshole was your everything and that you may want to get him back, but trust me, that stupid cliché about there being more fish in the sea is kinda true." She paused, now grinning, "I also know you're thinking about getting revenge on that sleazebag for this! And you want to kick that bitch's ass for taking your man! And trust me babe, we'll get them back."

I smiled; Tayuya had such a filthy mouth. She always cusses or insults someone, even when she's being nice. But she was a sarcastic, bitchy girl. She's a good bitchy; the kind who doesn't take crap from anyone and does what she wants to do. Tayuya and Fubuki are what we call "independent"—they don't need other people to do things for them, they do it themselves. They don't look for acceptance; they don't ask for permission, they just do it.

Fubuki put an arm around me after I smiled, "Yeah babe that little bitch got nothing on you. That little girl is messing with the wrong people and one day, Karma's going to make her all fat and ugly and Haruko is definitely going to regret it!"

I glanced over at Sasori and Kimimaro who were now busy talking to one another. I then looked down at my fisted hands; I hated being so useless. Here I was, upset about a breakup from eight months ago when I should be going out and living my life…I don't understand how Fubuki and Tayuya can be so…strong. They never seemed down. When people called them names, they called them a name back. Someone steps on their foot, they step back. When Tayuya's boyfriends leave her, she laughs and finds someone else. When someone double-crosses Fubuki, she finds a way to get back at them non-violently. Someone pushes Sasori, he pushes back…all three of them were so much stronger than I am. I wish I could be as strong as they are.

They were my idols.

Tayuya pulled my head up, "How about the three of us hang out on Friday? Get your mind off of things and give you a taste of what this town's about?" She looked back at Fubuki as if looking for confirmation. Fubuki nodded.

"Yeah, we'll introduce you to our friends," Fubuki added. She then glanced at Sasori, "Sasori can come too if he wants." Upon hearing his name, my stepbrother turned towards us with a blank yet semi-confused expression.

"What can Sasori do," He asked, referring to himself in third-person. I laughed at Sasori who just glared at me as if I did something wrong.

"Hang out on Friday," I replied hopeful that he'd agree to come. He just shrugged and said 'sure' before returning to his conversation with Kimimaro. I shook my head with a small smile when my two pink haired cousins began arguing about what we'd do on Friday and where we'd go and whatnot. My family is everything but normal. They're so…loud and…animated that it scared me that I'm related somehow.

My step-mother is a childish woman in her mid-thirties who stills seems like a teenager or child at heart and has major mood swings. She's pretty strict when it comes to behavior—once she _literally_ poured soap on Sasori's tongue for cussing in front of her when he was twelve—but other than that she's pretty free-spirited. She has tattoos of mine, Ren, Shin and Sasori's names around her ankles as well as a playboy bunny on her lower back. She also has her nose, lip and eyebrow pierced and has three earrings in her ear…surprising right?

My father looks like a serious man in his early forties but sits on the couch playing the PS3 for hours on end when he's not busy at work and can be a total sixteen year old sometimes. He's passively embarrassing and accident prone. Once, he broke his leg going down a rock-carved slide, broke his finger when he fell down the stairs because of his broken leg, then cut his other finger open while climbing out of the swimming pool at the hospital during his therapy session—all in the same two month period! He also has an embarrassing habit of losing his pants when he's outside, like when he and Sasori were carrying in a bed-frame a few weeks ago, his pants fell. But he's very calm, never punishes Sasori and me for anything and mocks his younger brother Miku whenever he's not around. But he does fight with his brother a lot and sometimes they get pretty violent.

My grandmother Chiyo on Sasori's mom's side "plays dead" every chance she gets and is constantly making jokes about random things. She's very…energetic for an old woman. She likes running around or if she's in her wheelchair, scooting around and embarrassing anyone in the area or scolding people for little things just to get them in trouble. Once, she even knocked over a tray of rice and blamed our younger cousin Mako. And her brother is a closet pervert who secretly subscribes to a smut novel called 'Icha Icha". He spends most of his days scratching lottery tickets or reading that book, but if we're lucky he's asleep since he's also an alcoholic. When he's awake and drinking, he can be pretty belligerent.

Grandma Andrea, my dad's mother, is constantly trying to fatten everybody up with food and forgets who everyone is. She constantly makes fun of us for the weirdest things such as laughing at something on TV while she talks to the birds she feeds and meows at cats that pass by. She also gets mad easily and instigates fights between my family members. She takes the side of one combatant, then takes the side of another a few minutes later, then brings someone who isn't even part of the argument into it.

My cousin Tayuya, as you know, has a bad sailor mouth. She's assertive and overly aggressive. She looks cool on the outside, but is actually a ticking time bomb. You so much as look at her wrong and she snaps. Anger issues, much?

Fubuki is the same, except she can be more passive aggressive. She taunts people all the time instead of bluntly calling them out on something. For instance, if you bump into her, she'd say something about you being so fat you had to take up all the room whereas Tayuya would shove you back and yell "watch where you're going you fat-ass!" Fubuki and Tayuya also fight a lot because their personalities are so similar that they clash. And when they start fighting, it's a war.

My deceased brother Ren was a prankster taking after our dad. He was a total womanizer and had more girlfriends than there presidents. He was a party animal and always got into trouble while my other deceased older brother Shin was the complete opposite of Ren. He was a perfect straight A student, was extremely reserved and polite, and never got in trouble a day in his life! …that's because he never gets caught.

And lastly my amazing step-brother Sasori is known for being really quiet, sarcastic and jerk-ish towards people, is very apathetic, seen as the "cool silent type" and so on, but as soon as you make so little as knock on his door when he's sleeping, he becomes violent. He gets into fights every now and then with people for stupid reasons sometimes, then goes back to "everyone around me in an idiot" mode.

Can you say "mental issues"?

The music muted, signifying an important event which we assumed was the blessing of the food; we walked into the dining room where all the food was surrounded by people. The large dining room table held a vast variety of food such as: Macaroni and cheese with bread crumbs, spaghetti and meatballs, finger sandwiches, fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, chicken adobo with rice and lumpia (all of which was courtesy of our Filipino side of the family), a lot of sushi and yakisoba (from our Japanese side of the family), salad, macaroni salad, Korean ribs (that were Barbequed in the backyard by my amazing father, Mr. Kizashi Haruno), bread and spinach dip, carrot and apple slices with cheese and caramel, cupcakes of different flavors and colors, and tortilla chips with melted cheese and everything needed to make nachos.

I glanced around at all my collective family members; it was very easy to see the resemblance. Tayuya, Fubuki, my dad, and a lot of other family members on dad's side had pink hair of various shades. My eyes were green like my birth mothers and were just as wide and feminine as hers. I also had my mother's chin and heart-shaped face and pale skin tone and nose. And although Sasori is my step brother, he looked almost exactly like my real brother with the dark red hair (instead of pink), brown eyes like my father, skin tone almost exactly like my father's and my birth mother's nose. He was a nearly identical copy of my brother Ren…red hair and all…

For a while, he grew out his hair to avoid looking like Ren. He missed him a lot, we all did, and I think that seeing himself as a nearly identical copy of him hurt Sasori more than anyone.

My dad's mother, Grandma Andrea, cleared her throat making all noise lower once again. "Hello everyone, I just want to start the blessing of the food." Everyone who wore hats removed them and clasped their hands before them and bowed their heads. Sasori's side of the family wasn't very religious but followed in the prayer out of respect.

"Dear Lord, please bless this food which we are about to receive. Today is a special occasion since our family has been incomplete for several years and today it is whole again." Everyone muttered in agreement. "This family has suffered many traumas, and pray for your help in healing these wounds—both old and new. Our children are graduating this year, and we wish for you to guide them towards success in whatever they wish to do."

Suddenly, Grandma Chiyo broke out into a large grin and yelled out, "Also thank you for blessing us all with beer! We all know we're gonna need it." Everyone laughed and agreed cheekily. "Let's dig in!" Everyone began grabbing paper plates and put their servings on their plates eagerly. I got as much of the spaghetti, adobo, rice, lumpia and Korean ribs as possible then poured a cup of coke and returned to the black couch in the living room with my brother and cousins to watch the movie we had started watching earlier. We were watching the new Three Musketeers movie. I liked it, especially the beginning when Pathos, Aramis, Athos and Milady break into Da Vinci's vault.

Something caught my mind though—was Haruko even missing me right now? Or did he get back together with…her? It would be pointless to try and get back at them if he didn't even care about me. Then again, if they cared about me, they never would've gone behind my back the way they did and hurt me this badly. How long had they been lying to me—that was one of the few questions that lingered in my hand on a daily basis…

"Sakura," I looked over at Tayuya who had a very annoyed look on her face, "stop thinking about it. Friday we'll do something so amazing, you'll forget about him okay babe?"

Despite my curiosity as to how everyone knew when I was thinking about Haruko, I nodded and went back to eating the Korean ribs that stained my rice with barbeque sauce.

Tayuya is right. We will do something fun on Friday.


	3. All the Small Things

**Pinky Bruiser**

**Summary:** _She was nobody, a loser. She just wanted to fit in. When her cousins bring her to a roller derby game, she runs into a rival skater, causing a fight between two rival squads. If that wasn't bad, a guy on the hockey team named Deidara embarrassed her in front of everyone! When Tayuya said things will change, she meant it. "It's time for a makeover. Goodbye Sakura, hello Pinky Bruiser."_

**IMPORTANT Author's Note: I have gone back and edited this chapter **_**again**_**. So last time I edited this chapter was April 15****th****, so please re-read this chapter and any chapter that have been updated as of May.**

**Things to Know**

**Tapers:**_ a form of "stretching" (incorrectly called "gauging") jewelry that is thicker on one end and gradually thins out to a small point on the other._

**Labret:** _Technically called a "center lip piercing" but is known as "labret". It's a piercing done just below the center of your lower lip._

**Second Author's NOTE: Oh My Gosh you guys…I graduated today! (May 23, 2013) Oh my gosh! No I can update even faster and continue to edit these chapters! Woohoo!**

**SECOND UPDATED/EDITED: May 23, 2013**

**C****hapter Three: All the Small Things**

_**Normal POV—Tuesday July 16, 2013—4:30 PM—Somewhere**_

A teenage boy with bright blond hair and stunning blue-gray eyes stared up at the boy before him. He was hunched over on a pair of roller blades, black pads on his knees and elbows, plastic glasses over his beautiful ocean orbs and a black helmet over his head, and a hockey stick in his hands finished his ensemble. The boy before him was dressed similarly, with black hair in a ponytail and brown eyes. In between the two males who radiated with violence and anticipation, sat a tennis ball wrapped with silver duct tape. The boys' eyes met as they gripped their hockey sticks tightly. Sweat dripped from both boys' brows and cheers greeted their ears, only to be faded due to the adrenaline rush they both felt.

There was nothing but them.

"One…Two…Three!" The two boys chanted as they tapped their sticks together. At three, they fought for the ball, the blond snatching it from the other and passing it to his teammate, a teen with black hair in a ponytail and dark eyes wearing a pair of red tinted goggles. He soon chased after the 'puck', shoving players from the opposing team aside as he skated until a goal was made. They continued the dangerous game, fights with fists breaking out every once in a while.

The blonde fell to the ground when a male from the other team landed a sucker-punch to his cheek before tackling him. Quickly, the blonde took control of the situation, punching the assaulter and even banging his helmet-protected cranium on the asphalt of the parking lot for good measure. He was pulled off by his teammate—a young guy with a boyish face, spiked black hair and dark orange-tinted goggles over his dark eyes. The duo got up, ignoring the pained teen and continued with the game until one team was declared winner. The blonde and his team ignored the mocking calls of the other team who won by one meager point, and they began packing their things.

"So Deidara, I noticed Aya talking to that guy Gaara…are you guys still fighting," The ponytail haired boy questioned his friend while drinking some electric blue Gatorade and removing his helmet to shake his raven locks. He then leaned against a parked car. The blonde, Deidara, glanced at his friend while removing his own helmet and protective glasses. He gave an indifferent shrug in response, taking the drink his friend. Seeing the look Deidara gave him, however, Itachi changed the subject to something else, "Anything new happening?"

At first, Deidara didn't respond as he was drinking the cold, blue beverage. After a minute, he replied. "Not much going on; wasting my day away out on the surf and chilling with you guys, yeah. By the way, my sister convinced Dad to get me to take up her shift on Friday because of her game so I can't meet up with you guys at the Warehouse like we planned." He mumbled, returning the nearly empty Gatorade to him.

Itachi frowned, "That sucks…you already work every day at Boomers, so why should you have to take your sister's shift at the restaurant?"

Deidara shrugged, his sharp, ocean-blue eyes rolling. "She's a bitch, yeah."

"You can't get out of it?"

"I'll try."

The Uchiha then changed the subject knowing the topic of Deidara's sister was a very delicate one. He and his twin sister didn't get along very well and were constantly at each other's throats. Ever since he could remember, Deidara fought with his sister, and they didn't even know what they fought about most of the time. Everyone assumed it's because people constantly mistook them for two sisters instead of brother and sister when they were younger and that Deidara was just sour about it. At school, the two would avoid each other as much as possible, and at home were rarely ever together, even though they both lived together and sometimes worked at the family restaurant. Though, that's why Deidara started working elsewhere.

"Are you ready to get back to school?"

The blond let out a snort and rolled his eyes. He wasn't much of a school person, everyone knew that. It was a miracle he made it to senior year. "What do you think?"

"At least it's finally our senior year," Itachi muttered, taking another sip of his Gatorade. "It's our last year, so at least we can chill."

Deidara was quick to agree. He loved high school not because of academics, but because of hockey season. Hockey was one of the major sports at Ocean High and he had made it to varsity. No one could beat Ocean when it came to hockey, and their biggest rivals were the South City Wildcats. Well that and he enjoyed the time they had together, even if they annoyed each other a lot. They were a little family in their own weird way. He probably wouldn't have even survived high school without them because they were what made him focus. His everlasting rivalry with Itachi was the only reason he ever bothered to keep his grades up. He couldn't fail out of high school now, could he?

It was funny because if you told him a year ago that he'd be best friends with the guys on the hockey team, he'd just laugh at you. If you told him he'd be _on_ the hockey team, he'd flat out take it as an insult. The only reason he even bothered trying out was because of Itachi.

But that's a story for a later time.

"I just can't wait to get back on the ice," Deidara finally said. "My blades are getting dull."

"Same," Itachi muttered. "Plus I'm tired of the heat. Besides, I think a few of us are getting rusty." Deidara glared at him, but Itachi remained nonchalant. He knew the Uchiha was talking about him, and the Uchiha could fuck himself for all he cared. But Deidara wasn't about to let it slip without his own little comment.

But alas, he'd never have the chance to for at the sound of melodic laughter they turned to see three lovely ladies across the way, eying them like hawks would their prey. There were a pair of twins—one had shoulder length sandy blond hair and hazel eyes while the other had long hip-length brown with blond highlights and chocolate eyes. The other girl had long black hair to her hips and dark brown eyes. All three girls had bodies to die for, and their faces were very feminine. In fact, Yukie, the black-haired girl, had the face of an actress and could possibly become a famous actress or model in the future.

Seeing the duo eyeing them, the girls began walking towards them with seductive sways of their hips. The one with long brown and blond hair stepped in front of Deidara with a large smile on her face. "Hey ladies," Deidara greeted while kissing his girlfriend, Aya, on the cheek. He wrapped his arms around her torso and pulled her against his body. Itachi merely draped an arm around Yukie and returned to talking to one of his many best friends while the girls talked about something else.

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Hey, Konan and I were going to get something to eat before heading home. You guys wanna come?"

Deidara looked over his shoulder at the voice. The guy behind him was tall and muscular in build. His skin was pale with a tiny hint of peach, and his choppy hair was outlandishly bright orange and spilled in messily teased spikes. His exposed ears were decorated with black cuffs, spikes and tapers. His nose bore several piercings along the bridge of his nose, one on his eyebrow and two on his lip. A girl was holding his hand with a bored if not annoyed expression. She was much paler than him, with chest-length hair an extravagant shade of blue that gradually faded into black at the tips. Her piercing eyes were a bright amber color that seemed impossible to ignore with the intense black eyeliner she wore. Her ears bore three different rings in the cartilage plus one on the lobe, and a labret sat beneath her lip.

This was Pein Fuuma, Co-captain of Ocean High's varsity hockey team. Beside him was his girlfriend of three years, Konan who went to a different school the next town over called Westlake High.

"Depends," Aya replied to Pein's question. "Where are we going?"

This time, Konan spoke, "We'll probably just go to the mall since there's nothing else to do…unless you guys have other suggestions."

Pein snorted at his girlfriend's statement, earning a glare from said woman. He ignored it and argued, "There's a lot to do. You just don't like doing anything." Konan's glare intensified out of sheer annoyance but she rolled her eyes and looked at the others expectantly. Pein continued, "So… yeah. We'll think of something to do on the way. We can pick up Madara since he gets off in about an hour."

Itachi frowned slightly at the mention of his brother. "I can go but Madara's still grounded. Mom won't let him anywhere except work. He's let off Thursday though, I think."

Pein cursed, looking forward to hanging out with his best friend, also known as Itachi's fraternal quadruplet brother. They shared the common "Uchiha looks" consisting of dark colored hair and eyes and pale skin. Itachi looked more feminine out of the four with silky black hair, soft onyx eyes and gentle features while his younger brothers Sasuke and Izuna shared Madara's raven hair color and sharp features.

A sigh escaped Pein's lips, "At least he can make the game…" Pein then turned to Deidara, "You guys are coming right?"

The blond grinned, "I'm down. What about you babe, yeah?"

Aya and her twin Matsuri shared a glance before smiling, "Sure!" They then looked at Itachi and Yukie. He didn't even bother asking her, just nodded.

"Alright then, let's meet up down the street," Pein suggested and began walking away to ask the others if they wanted to join. After a round of denies, Deidara moved to pick up his duffel bag and tossed it into the back of a pale blue pickup truck that had splotches of silver from the chipping paint and orange streaks of rust. He, Aya and Matsuri climbed into the truck not too long later. Itachi and Yukie proceeded to climb into the backseat of Pein's white and black 1995 Honda Civic while Pein and Konan went in the front. After bidding the rest of their friends a quick goodbye, the two cars drove off towards the local mall.

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Sakura's POV—Friday July 19**__**th**__**, 2013—11:47 AM—Kimimaro's car**_

"So what's there to do here," I asked as I stared out the window. Kimimaro and Tayuya had picked Sasori and I up from our house and were now on our way to Fubuki's place to head off to pick her up then wherever it was they wanted to go.

Tayuya checked her eye in the mirror, rubbing it into oblivion. Good thing she wasn't wearing any eye makeup. "There are a lot of things to do here; there are beaches all over the place, the malls, parties—you know—the usual." She pushed the visor back up after dealing with her eye. "So after we pick up Fubuki, we're gonna meet up with a few friends at around three-thirty and we'll have you back home around nine or ten depending. Is that okay with you guys?"

Sasori shrugged, "Sure. As long as I'm with you, our parents don't mind us being out so late." Then the silence began. I wasn't sure what I wanted to say, I just wanted to go and get out of our house and have fun before school starts next week. To fill it, Tayuya turned up the radio while singing along to some song I didn't pay attention to. I was too busy thinking about my old life, my old home and my old friends. I really missed them…well, the ones that were still loyal to me, like my friend Iris and my friend Maria. Then Haruko crossed my mind…

I sighed and just sat back and watched as the scenery flew by in flurries of color, ignoring the other occupants of the car. I felt bad for being so down and rude to my cousins and brother, but I had my spells of depression. Everybody does.

_Stop thinking about him_, I told myself, closing my eyes. He's an asshole and he's gonna realize he made a huge mistake. Just like Sasori said.

I was never really close to my cousins, Tayuya and Fubuki being the only exception, and I still wasn't that close with them anymore. It was sad, but I was insanely jealous of them. I was always jealous of my cousins because they all seemed to have their own inner circle and never included me in anything. Again, except for Tayuya and Fubuki. Both pinkettes had the care-free "I-do-what-I-want" attitude while I was shyer I guess. Well, maybe not shy but definitely self-conscious. And it seemed to me like no matter what scrubs I buy for my face, it's always dry; or no matter how long I spend on my hair it never comes out right, and no matter how much I don't eat, I never lose weight but gain it. Tayuya's long pink hair looked so shiny and perfect, her complexion was constantly clean and free of blemishes, and her waist was just the right size so she wasn't thin enough to see her ribs, but she didn't have that big of a belly. Fubuki was the same but with beautiful, artistic embellishments that were permanently sealed to her skin.

Their eyebrows matched, their teeth were perfectly aligned because they once had braces, their hair was shiny, their makeup was perfect…I wanted to be like them—to be beautiful. But I got the runt of the genes. Even my pink hair isn't like theirs! While Tayuya and Fubuki had a dark pink shade, mine was a very pale tea-rose color. Everyone in my family looked gorgeous, even Sasori who doesn't even have _any_ of my genes! He looks like he's part of the family, while I'm the one who stuck out…I felt so…inferior…

The car slowed to a stop and Sasori hit my arm, probably thinking I fell asleep. I opened my eyes and came face to face to Fubuki's face at the window. I let out a shocked cry and jumped as far away as I could with the seatbelt still on while everyone in the car laughed. Fubuki opened the door and leaned down to look at us while Sasori wrapped his arms around me. "Hey babe," She greeted with a sneer.

I glared and unfastened the seatbelt so I could tuck myself between her and Sasori, "Ha-ha, very funny Fubuki."

She slipped inside the car and fastened her seatbelt, "Where are we going today?" Once she was safely buckled in, Kimimaro drove off towards the main part of town.

"It's all up to Sasori and Sakura," Kimimaro said, looking back as he changed lanes. "I'm just the driver. All I know is that we're meeting up with the twins later."

I looked at my step brother; he shrugged casually. I scrunched up my nose at his lack of response. It bothered me whenever he shrugged or acted so indifferently whenever a question was directed at him, just like how it bothered me when he took his time in the bathroom to do his hair then complained about how much he hated waiting. So I hit his arm, meeting his glare when he turned towards me. "We don't know what's around here," Sasori finally replied, turning his head to look out the window. "You guys said you'd take us somewhere fun."

Fubuki frowned, "I honestly could care less so long as we eat—I'm starving."

Tayuya turned in her seat and looked at me, as if she knew I was too shy. "You guys wanna eat? Sakura?" I thought about it; I had a pretty small breakfast and I was feeling a bit hungry, and Sasori was always hungry despite being so damn skinny (another thing I'm jealous of), so I figure—why not?

"Sounds good," I agreed as Sasori set a hand on my knee, "What's good out here?"

Tayuya grinned, "Our friend Ino's parents own a diner down on Ocean Avenue. They've got the best burgers in all of Konoha. How's that sound you guys?" Sasori shrugged, honestly interested in any food that wasn't "rabbit food" as our father calls it. In other words, anything that isn't meat, meaning: salads, bread, fruits, vegetables and even soups. A little disenchanted by the suggestion, as I didn't really have a meat craving at the moment, I let out a little frown but shrugged anyway.

"Alright."

Fubuki noticed my hesitance because she frowned too. "They have more than just burgers, Sakura," She said, "They have salad, burgers, tacos, and some other good stuff you'd find for lunch and dinner." I let the skeptic face drop and finally agreed. If everyone else wanted to go, I had no right to be picky and be sour about it. Besides, it does sound like the place has good food. The two other girls that occupied the car squealed in excitement; Tayuya leaned forward and adjusted volume of the music until it was loud enough to make the seats vibrate below us. The song was one of my old favorites when I was a little younger, All the Small Things by Blink182. I smiled when I heard the song come on, and Tayuya looked back at me with a smirk. That was my song as a kid!

I began bobbing my head to the song, getting into the music and heard Tayuya singing along with Fubuki while she turned up the volume even more. Eventually, I began singing along too, feeling very comfortable around them. And I realized I had to be comfortable around them. They were my family, the only ones who actually paid attention to me and vice versa. They wanted me to be happy, and they were trying really hard for me. All of them; Sasori, Tayuya and Fubuki, the only teens who felt separate from the rest of the family, they were here for me no matter what, and would be my safety nets if I needed them.

So when I turned towards Sasori, to see him bearing a smirk that meant he was happy, I allowed myself to forget my old problems and my old troubles.

This was a new town—this is my new start.

**Pinky Bruiser**

When we pulled up to Ocean Avenue, I noticed a bunch of different shops and restaurants. Ocean Avenue was the main strip of the small town we lived in and stretched, twisted and turned all about town. There were lots of people walking around the part we were at; there were teens and old ladies waiting at bus stops, wet-suit clad surfers carrying large white and yellow boards towards the beach down the street, clusters of skaters heading towards what I assumed was a park nearby, and girls riding bikes casually.

It was nice. I liked how inviting the town looked. It gave me a nostalgic feeling as I thought back to when I was younger, how this town seemed to hold on to the carefree, laidback attitude of the 1990's while still being so modern. It seemed everyone kind of knew each other to an extent, too, given the way Tayuya, Fubuki and even Kimimaro gave nods or waves to people who they saw on the streets. It was weird being somewhere I've grown up, but not knowing anything around me. It really was like I pressed a reset button on the controller to my life.

Konoha was small, but I never realized it was this _"big"_. I feel like this area is a sub-section of Konoha, like it's a town within a town. In fact, now that I think about it I've never even heard of Ocean High (the school I'd be attending), or this small sub-section of Konoha known as "Ocean Avenue". Come to think of it, I never really went all around Konoha; when I use to visit as a kid, the only places I went were one of the local malls, and to relative's homes. Even when I came to visit when I got older I went to the exact same places. So technically, this was my first time here.

Finally, we pulled up to a diner that wasn't too small, but not as big as other places. In front was a sign that said "Yamanaka's" and a little statue of a cute little pig on either side of the double-doors. The parking lot was pretty full so finding parking was a bit annoying. But once we parked in the back, Fubuki quickly took my hand and pulled me to the entrance in a sudden gust of excitement. As we reached the door, I noticed a few signs on the lawn, the windows and on the walls of the waiting area.

"I-Drop-Her #09"

"Deidara #32"

Apparently, it was a big deal because the signs were pretty big. I was going to ask about it, but a man was suddenly in front of us. He was tall with long platinum blond hair worn in a ponytail with his top layers spiked about his head messily and some longer strands framing his face, and large, mesmerizing blue-green eyes. He had rather strong and handsome facial features and a very well defined jaw-line. For an older man, he looked very handsome.

He smiled widely at my cousins. "Well would you look who's here; Fubuki, Tayuya and Kimimaro—what a surprise! Who are your new friends?"

Fubuki gave the man a hug with a sweet smile on her face, "Hiya Mr. Yamanaka! These are our cousins Sasori and Sakura. They just moved here from Suna."

He put his hand out for me to shake. I took it shyly. "Well it's nice to meet you both. I'm Inoichi, the co-owner of this diner." He shook Sasori's hand next. "I hope you both enjoy your time here in Konoha." He then turned to Fubuki, Tayuya and Kimimaro. "Are you guys here to eat?"

Tayuya quickly nodded, "Yeah. Is Ino around?"

Inoichi looked around the crowded diner until he found his target. "She is; she's serving tables. I'll seat you in her area." He led us towards a booth and placed the menus in front of us before walking off with a friendly wave.

Sasori turned towards Fubuki, "This place is crowded…maybe we should've went somewhere else…"

Fubuki waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it; Ino and Inoichi are fast. Besides, it's only twelve-thirty. We have a whole day together and then we have the weekend if we don't do anything fun today."

I looked over the menu, then. They were right; there is a lot of food to choose from. There were tacos, soups, quesadillas, nachos, personal pizzas, calzones, steak meals, seafood, spaghetti, fettuccine, burgers, pancakes, ice cream and a lot more! It was the dream diner.

"Guys, this place has everything," I said with wide eyes. I didn't know what to choose! There was so much, and I was just bubbling with hunger. I heard one of the girls snort, probably Tayuya.

"I told you."

"What are you going to get," I asked Sasori. He was staring intently at the burger section, and I couldn't help but laugh seeing how concentrated he was on the food. It was as if he had to choose the correct burger or else he'd explode or something.

Finally, he pointed to a specialty burger. It was a burger that had grilled cheese sandwiches instead of buns and was filled with three layers of meat and lots of cheese and onion rings. I looked at him with wide eyes. I was skeptical; even Sasori couldn't eat that much food. And if he did, he'd lose that lean body he's had since…well…puberty. "You can finish that?"

He smirked, "We'll see now, won't we? What about you, what are you getting?"

I frowned, "Um I'm not sure…guys what do guys you recommend?" The girls leaned over the table and looked over the menu. I was stuck between a calzone, the chicken parmesan penne and a plate of nachos.

"We can get an appetizer of nachos," Kimimaro pointed out suddenly, "So don't pick the nachos."

Tayuya nodded in agreement, "I say the penne." Fubuki and Sasori also agreed, so I smiled happily and sat back. Tayuya was getting a triple decker cheese burger where the third layer is covered with macaroni and cheese smothered in American slices with a side of potato wedges. Fubuki was getting a plate of macaroni and cheese with garlic breadcrumbs. Kimimaro was getting a burger that was covered in meat, onion rings and bell peppers. Everything looked and smelled so good.

A few moments later, a girl on roller skates skated towards us. She looked a lot like Inoichi with long platinum blond hair in a ponytail with the bottom layers dyed back, and blue-green eyes rimmed all around in black. She was skinny, average height with fair skin, and wore a light purple midriff that showed off her bellybutton ring, dark purple hip-apron and black skinny jeans with black and purple roller skates on her feet. When she arrived, she smiled widely. "Hey guys!"

"Hey Ino," Everyone except Sasori and I greeted. Her blue-green eyes fell on me and Sasori who sat quietly, eyeing her back. I just fidgeted a bit in my seat and fisted the material of my gray shirt. Then, she smiled softly.

"Hiya! The names Ino Yamanaka, you must be Tayuya and Fubuki's cousins Sasori and Sakura right?" She said. "Fubuki was telling me about you the other day. Welcome to Konoha!" I smiled at her and thanked her for her hospitality. She seemed pretty nice, and radiated some kind of aura that screamed "I'm proud of myself. Go ahead and start something, I dare you."

She then picked up her notepad and pen from a pocket in her dark purple apron. "What can I get you guys to drink and eat?"

We gave her our orders and watched as she skated off to retrieve our drinks. Tayuya leaned towards me, "That's Ino; she's one of our best friends. She's a bit of a bitch sometimes but she's cool. I think you and Ino would get along great."

"Really," I asked.

Fubuki nodded, "Yup. Of course, if your "inner bitch" ever came out, I think you and Ino would clash. But in a good way."

I nodded in understanding and we all began talking. When she returned with the drinks, Ino sat with us claiming she had a few minutes to spare. She immediately turned to me, her pretty blue-green eyes sparkling beneath her black eyeliner and soft purple eyeshadow. She really was pretty…

"So are you guys going to OHS?" Ino asked us, leaning her head against the arm she propped up on the table.

Sasori was busy talking to Kimimaro so I answered, "Yeah. What's it like there? I mean, Tayuya and Fubuki told us a few stories but I kind of want an outside opinion."

Ino shrugged, "It's pretty cool. I like it there; everyone is pretty chill. Most of the teachers are laid-back like Kakashi. You just gotta watch out for Tsunade, she's the vice principal, the one who deals with suspensions and detention and stuff."

"What about sports," Sasori asked as he casually joined our conversation.

Kimimaro answered, "We've got a lot of sports. We're number one at wrestling, hockey, swimming and football, second in basketball. We also got a soccer team, tennis, track, baseball and volleyball. You interested in joining?"

My brother shrugged and leaned back against the comfy booth whilst fidgeting with his cell phone, probably texting one of his old friends back in Sunagakure. We had the same exact phone, a dark maroon LG vx9200 env3, so we sometimes got our phones mixed up. But we fixed that by having Sasori stick Monster energy drink stickers all over the back of his phone. "Maybe, I'll have to check it out."

Ino smiled with a flirtatious glint in her eye. I rolled my eyes; of course this would happen. Sasori wasn't the kind of guy who flirted with everyone, but he didn't need to flirt to have girls swoon around him. "What do you play?"

"Back in Suna I played hockey. But I play baseball every now and then. The Squirt and I use to play catch outside every day. She's got a good swing, I'll admit that," He said, looking over at me with a small smirk. I blushed at the compliment and went on sipping my Pepsi. Sasori just chuckled and asked, "When's signup and tryouts?"

Kimimaro answered again, "I think baseball it starts a month after school starts. You know, conditioning and stuff takes a while and the actual season starts around Halloween I think. Not sure about hockey though. You'd need to ask our friend Sasuke—his brother is on Varsity."

Ino looked at me with large glimmering eyes, "What about you Sakura? Do you do any sports?"

I fidgeted a bit. I was a bit embarrassed to answer because I really haven't done any physical sports or activities in a while which is why I was a bit out of shape. Sighing, I told her, "Well not currently. I use to take figure skating lessons when I was younger, and I played volleyball for a little while back in Suna."

She nodded with a lip pursed out in an impressive expression. "Alright, alright; that's cool. There's a rink down in uh…what was it…?" She looked at the others at the table with a finger to her lips in a contemplative expression.

Kimimaro arched a brow, "You're talking about the one down in Colma where the hockey games are that you've been to dozens of times?"

Ino snapped her fingers and grinned, not at all paying attention to the end of his statement. "Yeah that one! There's an ice skating rink in Colma. You should check it out—it's _huge_."

Fubuki snickered, "Well it _is_ an Olympic sized rink Ino." She then looked at her younger cousin, "All the hockey games are there. If you want we can check it out next week or something?"

I nodded, "I'd like that." Tayuya and Fubuki smiled at me. They were smiles of acceptance and encouragement. I felt bad for asking them to take me everywhere, even if they were the ones suggesting it. I don't know why but I hate asking people for help and stuff—even my own family. I just felt like people would judge me if I asked to borrow money or would think I was incompetent if I couldn't understand a math problem.

After a moment of silence, I redirected the questions to our new guest, Ino. "So Ino, do you play any sports? You look like the athletic-type."

A large grin pulled at her pouty lips and her eyes seemed to take on a glittery look. "I was in cross-country, but I don't do school sports anymore. I skate now!"

Sasori seemed interested, of course, that a female was interested in the sport of skating (as it was kind of rare back in Suna) and leaned forward against the table. "You do?" His voice sounded condescending, as if he doubted her abilities. He was just like that, so I hope she didn't take that offensively.

"Well, roller derby, but it's a form of skating," Ino replied offhandedly. "Tayuya and Fubuki know; they skate with me all the time." Sasori and I looked at our cousins expectantly. Fubuki had an annoyed expression on her face and sighed in exasperation while Tayuya glared furiously at the blond.

"Ino, you asshole, you ruined the surprise!"

Ino's perfectly shaped eyebrow arched up as if saying _"what the hell are you talking about"_, but returned to normal when she frowned, "Err sorry…I didn't know. I thought they knew all about it! Besides," She crossed her arms and sniffed defensively, "who makes roller derby a surprise for someone?"

Tayuya stood up with a hand slammed against the table and a finger pointed at Ino accusingly, "We do! We didn't want them to know _anything_ about it until tonight you dumb broad!"

I sighed. Now that she was fired up, Tayuya wouldn't stop arguing with Ino until she was right so I decided to change the subject by asking (with feigned innocence mind you) what they were talking about. Thankfully, that did the trick as Tayuya stopped mid-sentence to look at me. But she seemed hesitant to answer because of her little argument with Ino. I could see the pink on her cheeks, and it wasn't formed because of the heat. That's for sure.

Fubuki turned to us with a tired expression on her face. "We were going to take you two to watch us play a game tonight… show you what's fun to do out here, you know?"

Ino excused herself to help a customer at another table leaving us to talk about it. "So when were you going to tell us about the roller derby," Sasori asked calmly.

"Like I said, we were going to take you to a game tonight," Tayuya mumbled bitterly, still mad that Ino let their surprise slip. "We wanted it to be a surprise."

I smiled, flattered that they went to such lengths just to show us a good time. From what I could tell, roller derby was a big thing around here. "Is that what the "I-Drop-Her" signs are about?" I finally asked, remembering the signs I saw. Then I furrowed my brows in confusion, "But what about the signs that said "Deidara" on it? Who is that?"

Fubuki waved her hand dismissively, "Those signs are about Ino's asshole of a brother. Not important. But yeah, Ino's name is I-Drop-Her when we're out on the rink." I laughed at the name; it sounded pretty cool.

"So if she's I-Drop-Her, what are you guys?"

Ino came back by then with some refills for our drinks and sat down with us again. We didn't mind because our large order of food probably wasn't even done yet. When she handed me the Oreo milkshake I also ordered, she set down a silver tumbler and winked at me, "Some extras for you!" There was more than some! It was nearly full!

"Well, Forehead," I twitched at the nickname, "Tayuya is who we call "What's-It-Tuya" and dear little Fubuki is "Skirt Cobain"."

Sasori's auburn brow arched upwards in amusement, and asked, "What's-It-Tuya and Skirt Cobain? Not bad. I approve."

Tayuya grinned, "Us three plus four others make up the Cherry Bombshells, the damn best team in all of Konoha! No one can beat us." Ino grinned widely at the mentioning of her team and her chest puffed out in pride.

"Damn right," The blond snorted. "So I'm guessing I'll be seeing you guys later tonight then?"

I looked over at Sasori, gauging his reaction to this. He seemed pretty interested in this whole roller derby idea. And honestly, I did too. "Definitely," I finally said for the both of us.

**Pinky Bruiser**

Eventually, Ino returned to working (and gave us our food of course), while we all ate and began talking. It was nice being able to start anew, to feel like I was normal rather than being depressed. After Haruko left me, I had become a depressing shell of who I use to be. I knew it was ridiculous and that he's just a guy, but I'm sure you understand how it feels after being dumped by someone who you were that attached to. And now that I look back at it, I can't help but laugh at myself and think how pathetic I was. Yet at the same time, I still hurt.

I needed to be fixed.

I needed someone to change me.

_**You don't need anyone to do anything for you—you need to do this yourself if you ever plan on changing.**_

"Sakura," Fubuki called. I looked up and saw everyone was finishing up their food and getting ready to head out. Sasori placed a hand on my shoulder, his usually bored eyes flashing with worry.

"You ready," He asked me. I picked up the last of my milkshake (I had shared the tumbler with Sasori) and finished it before smiling and nodding. We each paid for our own meals, bid Ino and Inoichi a goodbye, then hurried out to the car. By now it was already three o' clock and we were apparently heading to meet up with some guys named Sakon and Ukon.

I climbed into the car, my smile hurting my face but I didn't care. I legitimately felt happy, and I felt like I was the one who dumped Haruko, like I was the better person. I felt like he was just a guy, and I was better than him and Tenshi, and that I was the one who ended up successful.

And honestly, I could care less about that asshole.

**Author's Note**

**And that, my lovely readers, is chapter three. I just graduated (May 23, 2013) so I decided to go back and edit the chapters. If you've read them before I edited them, I just:**

**-fixed the spelling errors**

**-cleaned up the timeline**

**-added more descriptions of characters**

**-cleaned up the inconsistencies that didn't match the other chapters**

**So hopefully things are a lot better now. Thanks for reading, so please review!**


	4. Teenagers

**Author's Note: **Okay, so at one point, I introduce Pein, Kisame and Madara. Kisame's hair is inspired by one of Miyavi's old haircuts. Also, I was going to give Kisame "Gill Tattoos" on his face, but decided not to because of who his character is in the story. You'll see later.

And Madara's hair is inspired by Bill Kaulitz's from Tokio Hotel except not as poofy, has a long tail at the back and instead of blond highlights, his are dark red.

**IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay so I went back and edited it again. Please re-read the chapter (this chapter actually doesn't even have many changes, just changes to spelling/grammar/inconsistency errors) and any chapter that has been updated as of May 20****th****. The previous chapters have been edited for:**

**-spelling mistakes**

**-grammar mistakes**

**-inconsistencies in timeline**

**-addition/changes in character descriptions**

**-cleanup of timeline.**

**UPDATED/EDITED: May 24, 2013**

**Chapter Four: Teenagers**

_**Sakura's POV—4PM—Friday July 19**__**th**__**, 2013—Sierra Springs, Konoha**_

The car ride to wherever it was Kimimaro was driving was an interesting one. Sasori and Tayuya were arguing about music. Sasori loved music, especially anything Rock including (but not limited to) Art Punk and Rock, Street Rock and Punk, Shoegaze, Punk Rock, Grunge and Visual Kei. Luckily, most of the songs he played were actually pretty good so I didn't really mind. It was a weird thing for me because I liked the songs he played, but had no idea who any of the bands were. Well, I knew _some_ like _Godsmack_, _Reliant K_ and _Queen_, but that was about as far as my scope of knowledge about his music.

But anyway, back to the argument between Sasori and Tayuya: they were fighting because Sasori, being the misogynist that he is, insulted a female Rock movement called "Riot Grrrl". For those of you who don't know, Riot Grrrl was a feminist-focused political and musical faction that focused on helping women in the music industry be viewed as equals, and dealt with issues like rape, abuse, body image and all that. Sasori had stated he hated the movement made by all-female bands as they "focus attention on them-selves and asked for pity rather than spread awareness and make good music", then laughed at the common Kinderwhore fashion many of the feminist groups used.

Yeah, stupid, I know.

Tayuya was greatly offended and went on defending the music and insulted Sasori's love for Alice in Chains. After she said that, I joined the argument followed by Fubuki and even Kimimaro.

It was funny, fighting so intensely about music. I felt much more comfortable now that I've been with my cousins for a while and opened up about my music. I feel like I could actually talk to them about things other than the typical "what's been going on?" Do you know what I mean? Like, I can go to them about anything now.

"Will you shut the fuck up," Tayuya snarled, glaring at Sasori. "You have no idea what you're talking about you idiot! You like Joan Jett don't you? She is one of the girls who influenced the movement!"

Sasori snorted and leaned back in his seat, pulling his phone out to reply to a text message. "Che whatever you want to think."

"People only say whatever when they don't know what to say."

"I'm sorry. I lost my train of thought staring at that giant forehead of yours."

"What the fuck did you just say!?"

I sighed but smiled right afterwards. Poor Tayuya had the large forehead problem like me. Hers just wasn't as big as mine. "Guys let's just drop it okay? I'm getting a headache."

Tayuya turned around in her seat with a huff. "Whatever…"

"People only say whatever when they don't know what to say."

"SASORI SHUT UP!"

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—4 PM Friday July 19**__**th**__**, 2013—Sierra Springs, Konoha**_

If there was one thing Sakura learned about Konoha, was that it wasn't just one city. The residence of Konoha split the town's communities into several subsections like Ocean Avenue, Hillside, the Boardwalk and Rockaway. No one really knew why, but Sakura assumed it was easier to refer to them as such. Almost like nicknames for the different areas.

The car pulled to a stop at an apartment building. They weren't in Ocean Avenue, but were in a subsection of the city called Sierra Springs. It was a small residential area with more homes than there were stores, and one high school. The area wasn't that bad looking, but seemed a bit bland in comparison to Ocean Avenue's high foot traffic.

Everyone began exiting the car then, Sasori and Sakura moving cautiously as they weren't as accustomed to the unfamiliar territory that they stepped foot on despite the easy-going movements of their cousins and Kimimaro. They followed, eyes roaming over the area around them, taking in the large plants that decorated the vicinity, the balconies carrying residents who smoked out in the summer heat and the sprinklers that sprayed the children who screamed in joy. They cut across the grass in the center of the rectangular complex and headed towards a set of stairs leading to the three floors. Their ascent up the flights ceased after the second floor where they moved to the left and stopped in front of a door decorated with a "43" in false-gold numbers.

Tayuya banged on the door loudly, "Sakon Ukon open up!"

A few moments later the door opened to reveal a boy. He was short for a guy, and his hair was a dark, ashy gray color that spilled thinly down his neck and barely brushed his collarbone. His eyes were also pale gray with pale bags beneath them—a telltale sign he had been awoken. He was dressed in a black and gray stripped shirt and black cargo pants. "Hey," He greeted while leaning against the door frame. He eyed Sasori carefully, almost as if he was trying to measure Sasori's worth.

"Hey Ukon," Tayuya put a fist out in greeting, and he tiredly brushed his knuckles against her before crossing his arms. "Did we just wake you?"

He rubbed his eyes and muttered an unconvincing "no". Fubuki rolled her eyes and brushed her knuckles against his cheek playfully, "Uh-huh. Right. Can we come in?"

He moved aside to let everyone in, eyes roving over the two unfamiliar guests one more time. Fubuki noticed and waved a hand in dismissal, "Ukon these are our cousins Sakura and Sasori."

"The punks who just moved here," Another voice said. Sakura looked over Ukon's shoulder to see a guy sitting on the crème couch, eyes trained on the flat-screen television which displayed a first person shooter Sakura recognized as Black Ops. The funny thing was that the guy on the couch looked exactly like Ukon, except he wore a red-beaded necklace and glasses, and wore his bangs to cover his right eye.

"Who are you calling a punk," Sakura then asked, realizing what he said.

"You obviously."

"Sakon leave them alone," Tayuya snapped as she sat beside him on the couch. She looked back at Sasori and Sakura who stood awkwardly at the entrance of the room. "This is Sakon; ignore whatever comes out of this asshole's mouth. Anything that comes out of it is bullshit."

She then snickered at Sakon's annoyed "fuck you" and leaned back against the couch while Ukon moved past Sasori and Sakura to enter the small kitchen. "Drinks," He called, only to be denied by the new comers.

Fubuki frowned seeing the way her cousins continued to stand awkwardly near the entrance. "Come on in you guys. Don't be shy. They're your friends now, too."

The siblings glanced at each other with unsure expressions before shrugging and slowly moving into the room and sitting on the couch. "Anyway," Tayuya drawled, "we just finished eating at Yamanaka's. We're going to head to the Warehouse."

"Why," Sakon asked, eyes still focused on the screen, "You don't even have a game today."

Fubuki picked up her android from her pocket and began typing something. "Well Sakura and Sasori are new here so they don't know much about the city. We figured we could show them around."

"And you chose to take them to the Warehouse?"

"Why not? Are you coming with us or not?"

Sakon shrugged, "I don't know. Are we Ukon?" He spoke louder at the end, his question now directed towards his older brother who was emerging from the kitchen with a glass of orange juice. The older twin sat down on the couch on the opposite side of Sasori and picked up a controller.

"Sure why not," He said, pressing the 'start' button to enter the round. "Who's playing tonight?"

Kimimaro spoke this time, "I don't remember. But I think the Crazy Eights are one of the teams competing." He paused to look at the watch around his wrist. "It starts at seven. It's only four-fifteen."

"So we have about two and a half hours to kill," Fubuki muttered and laid against the couch. "Oh and Ino and Dog-Boy are going to meet up with us there. And I think Naruto is going to be there. You know how he is." The pinkette then looked over at the two quiet newcomers. "You guys still down to go?"

Sasori looked at his sister carefully. She looked just about ready to do anything so long as it wasn't being cooped up at home. And he really couldn't blame her. She had been through a lot, and stayed home all the time. So to see her looking indifferently at an invitation to something fun, he couldn't help but feel sorry for her, and even blame himself for not being as supportive as he could've been. Finally, he nodded, "Sure."

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal—6:30 PM—Friday July 19**__**th**__**, 2013—Cherry Street, the Warehouse**_

The Warehouse was exactly what it was called, a warehouse. It was a large warehouse, somewhere in Rockaway. There were cars parked in the dusty makeshift parking lot around it and people hurrying to get inside. It was already beginning to get dark now, due to daylight savings, and the summer air was a nice warm touch to the skin with a slight breeze every now and then.

When Sakura stepped out of the car and waited for her cousins to finish up their phone calls to Ino and some guy named Naruto, she looked around at the people—mostly teens and young adults—who passed by her or stood around with their friends. Everyone looked so happy and excited, and once again, knew each other.

Everyone looked like the grunge of the city, the teens that rebelled against conformity and laughed in the face of judgment. They displayed their brightly colored hair and bore colorful tattoos and body piercings proudly, as if they were war scars that told a story of how they lived. They carried an air of individuality Sakura could only dream of possessing.

Here she was again.

She was the one who stood out.

Glancing back, Sakura could easily see Sasori in one of the groups of guys, can of beer in his hand and skateboard in the other with Kimimaro coolly leaning against his car. She could picture Tayuya and Fubuki laughing and joking with some girls dressed in fishnet skirts and off-the-shoulder tops. She could see Sakon and Ukon arguing amongst a group of boys dressed in black shirts and purple skinny jeans.

But she couldn't see herself among them.

She couldn't picture herself—dressed in a gray shirt and loose straight-legged jeans—laughing and talking to anyone there.

"Sakura," She turned and saw Sasori leaning against the car. He jerked his head in the direction of the door everyone was heading to. It was then that she realized Kimimaro, Sakon and Ukon were heading in while the girls continued talking on the phone. "Let's go."

Sakura rubbed her arm subconsciously; a gesture Sasori remembered her doing whenever she felt nervous. "I'll just wait with Tayuya and Fubuki. You go on ahead."

The redhead looked a bit unsure of himself, wondering if it really was a good idea to leave his baby sister with the two crazy girls known as his cousins. He loved them and all, but sometimes, they could get a bit out of hand. He wanted Sakura to be happy again after all the bad luck they've run into, but he worried Tayuya and Fubuki would "corrupt her mind", as he so graciously put it.

_Then again_, he thought, _it wouldn't hurt for her to have "girl time"…maybe she'll feel better._

"Alright," Sasori finally agreed and jogged over to the guys who were nearing the doors. Sakura quickly bounded over towards the two pinkettes who stood near the car, still chatting away on their phones. Seeing Sakura waiting, they both ended their calls. Fubuki leaned against the car casually and searched her pockets for a cigarette. When she found one, she quickly put it between her lips and pulled out a packet of matches.

"You smoke," Sakura asked with a stunned expression.

Fubuki lit the cigarette with her brows knitted in concentration. "Yeah; it's a bad habit. My parents would kill me if they found out… Don't start ok Sakura?" The pinkette nodded and began kicking at a rock on the ground. Seeing the slumped shoulders and the calm face, the oldest of the girls frowned a little. "What's wrong?"

Sakura shrugged, "I don't know. I feel so… small."

"You are small," Tayuya pointed out from her spot on the hood of the car. Sakura remembered Tayuya warning her about sitting on the hood of Kimimaro's car and that it was dangerous as it was "made of soda cans" so you had to sit on it a certain way.

Sakura glared at Tayuya, crossing her arms defiantly and cocking her hip, much like the foul-mouthed teen would do. Fubuki's lips twitched slightly as she thought,_ now _that's_ an interesting sight._

"That's not what I meant. I just…I feel like I don't belong here."

Fubuki arched a perfectly curved and pierced eyebrow and tapped the ashes off her cigarette. "What do you mean by that? Of course you belong here."

Sakura shook her head, "I mean I don't feel like I belong _here_." She gestured to the area by waving her arms around her. "I feel like a nerd at a basketball game. You look like you belong here, like you could easily walk over to a random group of people and be accepted. I'm just the tagalong that everyone is staring at."

Tayuya looked at her confusedly. "Is that supposed to be a bad thing?"

Sakura rubbed her arm again and looked down. "I just don't want people to cast me out anymore. I just want to fit in, you know?"

Tayuya didn't like the sound of that. She furrowed her brows and wondered why Sakura would say something so…_weird_. She never understood the point of "fitting in" and why people wanted to do it. What was the point of being your own person if you wanted to fit in with everyone else? It just didn't make sense. Didn't Sakura realize this by now?

She jumped off the car, the pounding sound of the hood denting then returning to its normal shape loud against the chatter around them. She put a hand on Sakura's shoulder and glared at her, her purple fingernails digging into the fabric of Sakura's gray shirt.

"This is what I fucking hate about you Sakura," She snapped. "You always try to fit in. When we were kids, you wanted to fit in with the older kids. When you were with that jackass Kei, you wanted to fit in with his friends. When you met Haruko, you started acting like someone you weren't. You use to be so much stronger than this. Now look at you; you're happy one minute and depressed the next! Stop doing that. Stop trying to fit in with everyone."

The youngest of the pink-haired cousins flinched away from Tayuya, her eyes downcast as she absorbed the information. "I'm sorry…"

"That too! Stop fucking apologizing for everything!"

"Tayuya calm down."

"You should be fucking proud everyone is staring at you, that you're different! Right now, you're acting like a whiny little bitch. Man the fuck up Sakura and quit trying to please everyone! Quit being a crybaby and try being your own person for one!"

"Tayuya!"

Fubuki pushed Tayuya's hand off Sakura's shoulder, her own dark eyes steeled and silently daring Tayuya to keep on berating Sakura. Sakura, on the other hand, didn't even look at her cousins. As much as she hated to admit it, Tayuya was right. Her goal in life was to fit in and find herself. But she went about it the wrong way.

She changed herself just to be liked. She never wanted to admit it, but it always lingered in the back of her mind. When she dated Kei, the abusive boyfriend who basically started this annoying "I'm never going to be good enough" mentality, she let him pick her clothes and told her what to do and how to act. She convinced herself she liked what he liked when in reality she hated it. With Haruko, she tried being the complete opposite of his previous girlfriend who was legendary for her "annoying bitchy attitude" and 85-pound body.

Sakura had tried everything possible to make Haruko happy and forget about his ex that she forgot to make _herself_ happy. Although Haruko never asked her to change, she did and ended up becoming too much like the person she was trying not to be. Well, in Haruko's eyes, at least. She always looked at herself as too different, and kissed up to his friends to make him happy…

Didn't she just tell herself three hours ago "this is my new start"?

Why couldn't she just…throw away the past, forget the pain and become who she wanted to be? Why couldn't she just be like Tayuya and Fubuki and follow her heart? Why did she want to categorize herself into a clique? Why did she have to say "I'm going to be happy, I'm going to be myself" only to run away with her tail between her legs the moment she felt like she stood out?

_**Because you're too much of a scaredy cat.**_

It was true. She hated being left out and being alone. That's why she was so clingy towards other people. As a kid, she was always picked on by other kids. She didn't have a mother to run to, to help her with growing up. She only had her brothers and her father. Well, at least, until Sasori and his mother came along. And when she was in middle school, kids still picked on her because her only friends were her brothers and a girl named Kirai (who ended up turning on her). As she entered high school, the bullies disappeared and she clung to false happiness with Kei and eventually Haruko.

_It's all Kei's fault she's like this,_ Fubuki thought to herself. _If he hadn't hurt her…if he hadn't cheated on her…she wouldn't be so unstable. And if Haruko hadn't broken her heart, she wouldn't be so scared of being happy…_

Tayuya saw the way Sakura looked away like a beaten puppy and bit her lip, instantly regretting what she had just said. She sighed heavily, "Look Sak—"

"It's okay," Sakura interrupted, turning on her heel. "You're right. I do need to stop. I'm going to try really hard to stop that. I'm my own person and I need to quit being so stupid." She threw Tayuya a smile over her shoulder, one that was a mixture of sadness and determination. She was serious now, despite her flip-flopping emotions. "Let's go, the guys are waiting…"

Fubuki gave Tayuya a ferocious glare and punched her in the arm. Tayuya glared back, rubbing her abused arm and quickly followed after Sakura**.**

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—7 PM Friday July 19**__**th**__**, 2013—Cherry Street, the Warehouse**_

The room was filled with people—mostly teens and young adults—who chatted loudly amongst themselves, excited about the upcoming event. The room reeked of sweat, alcohol and smoke, and music played faintly in the background. The lights above the crowd were dull, leaving the inhabitants in the dim evening sunlight that spilled through the high-up windows.

Sakura sat between Fubuki and Ukon uneasily. Her heart was thumping loudly in her chest in anticipation, her adrenaline making her right leg bounce against the floor. She could feel the pounding in her head, the heat making her sweat; she could feel the excitement everyone else exhibited. She didn't know why, but she felt tremendously eager at the thought of game.

The music silenced and the lights shut, cloaking everyone in darkness. Screams filled Sakura's ears, fueling the pounding in her heart. One single spotlight shone in the center of the room, shining on a handsome young man. He was tall and lean, with straight brown hair covered by a dark bandana, and dressed in a dark blue shirt and black pants with black combat boots. He had a toothpick in his mouth.

The man smirked at the crowd and raised one hand in greeting. He pulled the microphone to his lips, "Welcome to the Warehouse. I'm Genma Shiranui." Everyone cheered loudly while he chuckled and waved a hand in dismissal. "Tonight we've got the Crazy Eights versus the Widows."

More screams met Sakura's ears, but Tayuya and Fubuki were strangely quiet.

"So let's welcome our lovely ladies. First up from the Crazy Eights, we've got…" The lights suddenly snapped on, and girls began skating into the rink dressed in hot pink shirts bearing their names and black shorts. She didn't pay much attention to the names as she was greeting Ino who pushed towards them with a boy, both carrying a white cardboard box. She had left her hair down to spill down her back in straight rivulets of blond and black and had replaced her apron and skates for a black purse and tennis shoes.

"Hey guys!" She greeted as she set the box onto the floor by her feet to reveal multiple cans of soda. "We got you guys some drinks!" She hugged them all, the boy greeting them as well, even Sakura and Sasori. Sakura welcomed and reciprocated the hug while Sasori just accepted it. He wasn't much of a hugging person.

"Thanks Ino," Everyone said as they passed the drinks out to one another. Ino took the boy's hand again and pointed to the siblings.

"Sakura, Sasori, this is my boyfriend Kiba. Kiba this is Tayuya and Fubuki's cousins Sakura and Sasori."

Kiba gave a toothy grin and shook both of their hands. He was darker than Ino, bearing a skin tone a tad bit darker than Sasori's and looked very wild and feral. His features were sharp but boyish, his brown hair short and set in messy spikes, and his cheeks tattooed with crimson triangles. She also noticed that he had one sharp tooth poking from beneath his lip, adding to his dog-like appearance.

_So this is why Sakon and Ukon call him "Dog Boy"…_

"Nice to meet ya," He said. He sat down beside Sasori with Ino on the other side of him.

Sakon called Kiba who spun around, "Where's Naruto?"

Kiba shrugged, "He said he couldn't make it. His parents grounded him for sneaking out to meet up with Hinata last night. And Sasuke said he can't make it because he's helping his mom with something at home or something like that."

A loud scream tore Sakura's attention away from the new arrivals to the rink, her brows rising in confusion when she heard her friends' belt out a loud "boo". The song Teenagers by My Chemical Romance blared around the room and the occupants began singing along to the song and screamed in pure joy.

"Alright everyone," Genma started, "First up, the captain of the Widows, the woman you don't want to mess with, Major Hangover." A woman skated onto the rink. She had long reddish-brown hair tied in a half-ponytail with her bangs covering one of her teal eyes. She was tall, curvy, and dressed in a formfitting dark blue off the shoulder shirt and a pair of tight jeans. Men whistled loudly and she sucked up the compliments with winks and blown kisses.

"And now, back from Neverland, we've got the Fairy Twins: Tinker Bellicose and Noxious Nixie." Genma elongated the vowels of their names as a pair of girls looped around the rink, their arms up and intertwined in the air as the crowd roared in excitement. They were twins, one with pretty medium length sandy hair, bright hazel eyes rimmed with black liner webbing at the end to form curvy vines and bright red lipstick, while the other had long brown and blond hair tied back in a long braid and chocolate eyes rimmed in dark purple liner, winged at the end. Their thin bodies were cloaked in a black top with their names written in white and black shorts with fishnet peaking from beneath. Ino snorted and crossed her arms, muttering something Sakura couldn't quite hear over the roar of the crowd.

Genma cleared his throat. The crowd hushed in anticipation as the next girl rounded the track. "Next up for the Widows is the amazing Indy Cent." This girl was tall with long, curly black hair in a ponytail that contrasted against her snow-pale skin and soft brown eyes lined in black and dusted with blue eyeshadow. Her black helmet was different from the other girls, however, as hers bore a white stripe down the center. The girl blew kisses and waved at the crowd coyly as she made her laps before joining the two other girls on the benches.

Ino let out a dry laugh, "What an attention-whore." Tayuya and Fubuki chortled in agreement while Sakura tilted her head in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"That girl, Yukie is a total snob," Tayuya had said, her eyes rolling. "She's a beauty queen; constantly caking makeup on her face and stuff. But she has a good left hook."

Because of the conversation between them, Sakura didn't catch the name of the next skater who had long dark red hair tied in a fishtail braid down her back. She wore a pair of goggles, indicating she wore glasses. Another girl came out, this time with dark purple hair pulled into a pair of pigtails and green eyes lined in purple eyeliner. She was called "Aye Kay .47" apparently. Sakura wasn't very interested in them as the two girls did the same thing as Indy Cent—blow kisses at the crowd and pose, flicking their hair over their shoulders before sitting. A third girl came out, with chin length, wavy black hair and bangs over her left jade eye. Her cheeks were flushed and her makeup nude. She looked less intimidating or violent than the other girls did, and a lot less confident. Her name was Ten-Times Baditude.

The song "Best Damn Thing" by Avril Lavigne replaced the previous song as everyone began cheering. Genma smiled charmingly at everyone, "And now we've got the lovely, the beautiful Leada Riot everyone!"

The crowd screamed louder than before and a girl with stunning electric blue hair skated into the rink. She looked very calm and collected, with her face displaying very little emotion except for an egotistical smirk that donned her lips. She had pale skin, bright amber eyes rimmed darkly in eyeliner and a white pearl piercing beneath her pouty lips. Her shockingly blue hair was tied into a ponytail beneath a black helmet that donned a large golden star on either side.

The girl didn't do any overly attention-seeking moves like blowing kisses or hollering at the crowd. She just skated two or three laps with that smirk and one hand in the air. As she passed by the section Sakura and her group sat, she seemed to widen her smirk and turned so she now skated backwards. Ino, Tayuya and Fubuki glared and flipped her off; she just snorted and went on joining the others at the bench. Genma began talking again while the girls began talking about their plays.

Sakura bit her lip.

"So, is anyone willing to tell me the rules?" She asked the group, watching the violent game below them begin. "This is the first time I really ever…watched a roller derby game…" Sasori leaned back so he could listen in on the rules as well but kept his eyes on the track and chatted with Kimimaro, Kiba and Sakon.

Ukon put a hand on her shoulder and leaned towards her. He let his pointer finger stick out from her shoulder to point to the girls as they lined up. "You see the girl with the giant star on her helmet? She and the other girl with the star are the jammers. They're the ones who rack up the points by lapping all the girls. They're on the Jammer Line." The blue haired girl and another girl from the opposite team stood at the back of the group that lined up, itching to start. He flicked his index finger from her shoulder to point at them. "The girls at the front are the Blockers. All together, they're called the Pack. They do everything in their power to stop the Jammer from the opposite team from passing them as well as defending their Jammer. Right now, they're standing on the Pivot Line."

Sakura stared at the blue haired girl, Leada Riot, as she and the other 'Jammer' waited for the signal. A whistle echoed throughout the room and the Blockers rushed forward. A second whistle and the two Jammers quickly took off after them.

Leada Riot skated through the pack of girls that tried stopping them. She pushed through, ducking and avoiding the slamming bodies of the other team. "See that," Fubuki asked, pointing at the blue haired woman. "Once she breaks out of the pack, she becomes the Lead Jammer and starts racking in points for every girl she passes."

After breaking from the pack, Leada Riot increased her speed, smirking at the roaring crowd and lapped the other girls. After breaking through the second time, she began to repeatedly hit her hips with her hands and a whistle blew. "That was a jam," Ino said, clearly uninterested in the performance before her. "The jam lasts about two minutes or until the Jammer decides to end it. Their jam could've lasted longer but oh well."

Sakura's eyes went wide when she saw a girl from the Crazy Eight's bend over, letting the red haired girl slam right into her and tumble over the railing, thus surfing the crowd a bit before being thrown back into the rink. Then she saw Aye Kay .47 and Indy Cent trap the other team's jammer in a cage they made with their linked arms. In the distance, Sakura could hear Sasori and Sakon cheering loudly when another girl was slammed into the ground.

Sasori spoke up now, "So what about that girl," he asked whilst pointing to Indy Cent. "Does the stripe on her helmet mean anything?"

Kimimaro waved a hand boredly, "That's the Pivot. Her job is to be blocker while the jammer is playing. If the jammer is called out because of injury, line-changes or fouls and stuff, the pivot takes her place as jammer."

"So she has to be fast and tough," Sasori concluded.

"Basically," Ino said. "Our team doesn't have a Pivot. Well, we kind of do but Hinata's not as fast as the typical Pivot or Jammer." She looked at Tayuya and set a hand on her shoulder. "Tayuya is our Jammer, and that red headed skank over there, Cheshire Brat, use to be our Pivot before she joined the Widows."

Sakura frowned, "You were friends?"

Tayuya snorted, "You can say that. But we'll talk about it another day. Tonight we're having fun." Tayuya smiled at Sakura who smiled back, then returned to watching the game.

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Sakura's POV—Friday July 19**__**th**__**, 2013—7:30-The Warehouse —Half Time**_

I was grinning madly. My smile was so wide that my cheeks hurt but I didn't care. I haven't had so much fun in such a long time! Sakon and Ukon were actually pretty funny when they were together, and Ino and Kiba practically had me dying of laughter.

Ino was a very loud person, and she was the kind of girl who got what she wanted and was very good at it. Kiba was the same; he was loud, sarcastic and blunt, and reminded me of a class clown. The two were always bickering about something, but not in a bad way. It was pretty comical seeing Ino yelling at Kiba about messing up her hair or for saying something stupid, and vise verse.

After watching the first half-hour of the bout, half time came around and a group of guys were performing tricks on their bikes. The skaters had left for the locker room, many sporting bloody noses and dark blue bruises. Sasori and I were ecstatic at the newfound sport; both of us had been cheering and conversing with the others about the game, and actually enjoyed ourselves. By now, I knew the derby names of all the girls on the rink and knew the rules by heart.

I really liked it.

I was also excited to know my cousins and newfound friends participated in this and were well known! In my eyes, they were now perfect. They were everything you could imagine, and they were proud of it. I kind of wanted to be like that, too. Not because I want to be like them, but because it looks like a lot of fun. I mean, what's there not to like about skating on a sloped rink, with people admiring you and screaming for you while you deck out your anger on other girls?

"Hey I'm going to get a drink," Sasori told me as he stood up.

I turned to face him, "I'll go with you."

He nodded and we told the others we'd be back and hurried off towards the drink stand. As we waited in line, I looked around a bit at everyone around me. I didn't feel so conspicuous anymore, and actually felt welcomed. I guess it was my nerves bothering me earlier. My eyes landed on a group of guys who stood around near a food stand with food and drinks in hand.

One was very tall with shocking blue hair with bright silvery-white highlights styled in a fauxhawk. The right side was shaved with the rest spilling over the left side of his head in short, spiky layers with short fringe and a long tail at the nape of his neck. He had large muscles, a sign he was an athlete. He was wearing a dark blue _Sloppy Meat Eater's_ shirt with dark blue skinny jeans held by a black belt, and black Vans.

The second guy had soda-pop orange hair that spiked around his head and a folded black bandana just above his bangs. His eyes were a strange shade of deep blue that looked almost violet. He also had multiple piercings across the bridge of his nose, a pair of snakebites and one eyebrow piercing. He was wearing a black motorcycle jacket over a Black Veil Brides shirt despite the heat, and black skinny jeans held up by a white studded belt, and lastly some black boots.

The last guy had long, raven hair that rested in messy, teased spikes down his back with a few streaks of dark red haphazardly thrown in, and matching dark eyes. He had a piercing on his lip and some kind of tattoo on his neck. He wore a dark blue casual jacket with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing what looked like a tribal Grim Reaper tattoo on the underarm of his right arm, a black tee-shirt, faded blue jeans with a rip on one knee and black Vans.

All three were pretty cute, and I nearly found myself bumping into Sasori when he tugged on the sleeve of my gray and pink shirt because of my staring.

"I'll have a Pepsi," I told the girl behind the booth when we arrived at the front of the line. She nodded and fished out a can of Pepsi from the cooler, shaking her hand to get rid of the ice water that soaked her hand. Then she looked at Sasori expectantly.

He pulled out his blue, purple and green duct-tape wallet and fished out a few bills, "I'll have the same." She took another can from the blue cooler and exchanged the money for the can. Sasori thanked her and we headed towards one of the other stands which sold food. "You want anything?"

I examined the signs of food, deciding on getting an order of bacon and cheese fries. I pointed to the booth. Sasori nodded and began heading towards the stand. We passed by those guys, and I took the opportunity to get a closer look at them. I was right to say they were cute, but wrong to say "pretty cute". They were down right hot!

The guy with orange ear had more piercings in his ear; there were six along the outside of the shell, an industrial bar across his helix and a pair of medium-sized tapers. The blue-haired guy also had a pair of tapers in his ear, probably a size 10 like Sasori's. The last guy had three piercings in his ear—two on the shell and one small plug at the lobe. I also noticed that he had a tattoo on his neck that was shaped like a circular red and white fan.

Usually, I found a large abundance of piercings and tattoos unattractive, but they really pulled the look off! Actually, they looked like the kind of guys Sasori would hang out with. I glanced at Sasori as he waited rather impatiently for the line to move; his unnaturally bright red hair was styled today. He had straightened his hair out and back-combed it in some places and dyed the lower sections so it gradually faded to black to give it an edgy look. The single, long section of hair was set in a braid of black and red as per usual. He was dressed in a black and red flannel shirt over a black shirt, black skinny jeans held up by a fat, hot-pink shoelace and his "lucky" black and red Vans. In his ears rested a pair of black tapers and a cuff on the right shell.

"Hey!" Sasori and I turned around to see Ino, Fubuki and Tayuya walking towards us. I smiled and waved at them when they got closer.

"Sasori, can you buy me some jerky," Fubuki asked as she stood with us in the line. "I'll pay you back."

My brother snorted, "No. I'm not made of money. Buy your own."

"Come on, it's just a dollar."

"One dollar more than I'm willing to pay for."

"You're such an asshole."

"I know." When Fubuki glared at him, he sighed and shook his head, "Dude, I don't have enough money. I need a job."

Ino set a finger to her chin and rolled her azure eyes towards the ceiling in a thinking position. "Well there's an opening at Target down on Timberhill. And there's that book store back on Ocean Avenue." Then she looked at him, "If you want, you can apply for my brother's position at the diner; he never shows up anyway."

"I'll see," Sasori replied and stepped up to the stand. "We'll have one plate of bacon and cheese fries with some jalapeños on the side. One beef jerky," He paused and looked at us, "Anything else?"

Tayuya ordered a slice of pepperoni pizza and Ino said she'd just share with us. The guy handed the list of orders to a girl beside him. She went to the back and pulled out a large slice of pizza from a pizza box, a long stick of jerky from a bowl and began preparing the bacon and cheese fries. We stepped off to the side to wait for the food to be heated up and prepared, talking about what else was worthwhile around the area. Ino told us that there were two movie theatres here—one at Stonestown Mall and the other in Sierra Springs—a large skate-park near the teen clinic and the Uzamaki thrift shop in Rockaway, about three or four comic book stores on Ocean Avenue and Downtown, an indoor extreme sporting place in Pacifica and lot of other cool little shops all around.

I couldn't wait to start exploring! I think I'll start with that ice skating rink Ino talked about earlier today.

When our number was called, we took the food. Sasori handed me the sodas we got earlier while he carried the bacon and cheese fries, then gave Fubuki her jerky and Tayuya took her pizza. We began heading back towards the guys, talking about what we should do when we hang out again when something—or more like someone caught my eye.

It was a boy with long blond hair spilling down to his shoulder blades. His bangs swopped across his forehead and covered his blue-gray eyes and his lip was pierced with a black beaded loop. His exposed ear bore an earring shaped like a dragon with the tail starting at the lobe and the body winding up to the helix. He wore faded blue jeans with holes haphazardly on the knee and thighs and a black and white studded belt, a black _Alice in Chains_ shirt, black Converse and a white cowboy hat. He was walking with a guy that had long black hair in a low ponytail, dark, long-lashed eyes and dressed in a dark red shirt with a black jacket, black jeans, and black and red Supras. From what I could tell, he didn't have any piercings or tattoos and looked rather…bored.

They were walking towards that previous group of boys and greeted them casually, quickly diving into some conversation I couldn't hear from here.

Next thing I know, I walked right into a girl, spilling Sasori's open soda all over the front of her shirt. She made what wounded like a gasp and cry of shock mixed into one loud noise. "Oh my God!"

I gasped and began wiping off her black shirt with some napkins I was holding, ignoring the loud laughter from my cousins and Ino. "I am _so_ sorry!" Then, my eyes fell over the white writing on her shirt, stained brown by the soda I had spilled.

Leada Riot.

_**Well shit**_**.**

**Pinky Bruiser**

**Author's Note:**

**And that, my lovelies was chapter four. So Sakura finally goes to the Roller Derby Bout and (kind of) meets the Akatsuki. Well, she sees them, so it's kind of the same thing, right? What do you guys think of my description of the guys? Does it seem realistic for the setting and stuff? I think so, but then again it's all subjective…**

**But anyway, next chapter we see the day from the Akatsuki's perspective from the beginning to Sakura spilling soda all over Konan and what happens afterwards.**

**Also, just to clear things up, Sasori's hair is naturally red, but he dyed the bottom so it went from bright red to dark red to black starting at the natural part in his hair on the right side of his head. And yes, one lock of his hair is longer than the rest (it reaches his collarbone) so he braids it. I'll try posting a picture of it when my internet is back (I'm still using mobile) and I'll post a lot of other pictures for this story as well. I'll tell you guys when I do, so look out for that in future chapters!**

**So until then, adieu my dear reviewers!**


	5. What I Got

**Pinky Bruiser**

**Summary:** _She was a nobody, a push over. She just wanted to fit in. When her cousins bring her to a roller derby game, she runs into a skater, causing a fight between two rival squads. If that wasn't bad enough, the boys of the hockey team embarrassed her in front of everyone because of it. And now, Sakura has a decision that could change her life. "Goodbye Sakura Haruno, hello Pinky Bruiser!"_

_**Author's Note:**__ Okay, so remember two chapters ago when I said Madara and Itachi were twins, and Sasuke was the youngest brother who shared Madara's hair and stuff? Okay, so we meant to say Itachi, Madara, Sasuke and Izuna are fraternal quadruplets. Madara is the oldest, then Itachi, then Izuna and then lastly, Sasuke is the youngest. I know it's weird to see quadruplets, fraternal or not, but I know three pairs of quadruplets, and Aiko and I are two of the three Miyaki triplets. So, it's not _**that**_ weird to see…kind of…Aiko pointed this out only after updating the chapter, so I just wanted to clarify this._

_Also, Tobi, Madara and Obito are separate people in my story. Madara is just Madara, Obito and Tobi are his cousins. Obito is the oldest, being twenty-seven, while Tobi is around 18-19 like the others._

_**Important Things to know:**__**  
Okay so I **_**also**_** forgot to mention (boy, I'm terrible) the piercings in which the guys have. Some people aren't familiar with the terms and asked about it. To clear things up:**_

_These are __**not**__ called "gauges" so please stop calling them that. Gauges refer to the size of the needle that pierced your ear, not the name of the piercings. Most of us have either a size 18 or 16 gauge (a normal earring). The smaller the number of the gauge (like size 8, size 12, etc), the larger the hole. The correct term to use is "Stretching" not "Gauging"._

_**A taper:**__ an ear piercing that is fat on one side, and gradually narrows towards the other end. They're pretty common amongst people who stretch their ears. Amaya has a size 10 taper in her left ear while Aiko has one on both._

_**Spirals**__: an ear piercing that is literally shaped like a spiral. Aiko wears a lot of these._

_**Plugs:**__ short cylindrical pieces of "stretching" jewelry._

_**Flesh Tunnels:**__ These are also called Bullet Holes and Eyelets. They look like plugs except are hollow in the middle so you can see through them._

_**Helix Piercings:**__ a piercing at the top corner of the shell of the ear. Aiko has one!_

_**Industrial Bar/Piercings:**__ a piercing that spans the diameter of the top of the ear, near the Helix. Our brother Ren has one in each ear._

_**Conch Piercings:**__ a piercing that rests on the inside of the ear and loops around the outside. Amaya has one in her right ear._

_**O-Rings:**__ the elastic, rubber bands you put around the ends of a piercing to keep it from sliding out._

_**Point of No Return:**__ the limit to the farthest you can possibly stretch your ears without permanent damage; the most you could stretch your ears before they stop shrinking. This is different for most people, as there are people who get Size 0 rings, and their holes close up after they stop wearing them, and there are people who have size 10 rings and they never return to normal._

_**We finally meet the Akatsuki! Yay!**_

_But anyway, just enjoy the story and send us a review!_

**UPDATED/EDITED: May 8, 2013**

**Chapter Five: What I Got**

**Normal POV—Firday—8:00 AM—Yamanaka Household—Rockaway**

The song "What I Got" by Sublime quickly filled the dark and silent room. A soft groan escaped Deidara's lips as he eased himself out of sleep and out of bed. He yawned and calmly reached over to turn the alarm on his cell phone off then crossed the room where he flipped the light switch on to fill the room with light. He yawned again and stretched his back until the joints popped and cracked beneath his sun-kissed skin.

He began scratching his head vehemently, wincing when the bottoms of his black fingernails scratched too deeply.

After spending a minute regaining his senses, Deidara exited his room and climbed up the stairs to get to the third level where the kitchen was. The delicious aroma of eggs, spam and Top Ramen filled his nostrils, letting him know just what was for breakfast. He entered the kitchen and scanned the room—his mother was at the stove cooking, his father was brewing coffee and watching the news on the television on the counter and his sister was playing with her android at the table.

Deidara tiredly mumbled his good morning as he opened the fridge to grab a drink. He settled on drinking Seven Up rather than the carton of Tropicana orange juice or the gallon of milk on the bottom shelf, earning a strange look from his twin. He ignored it at first, instead opting to pour the clear carbonated drink into a clear glass cup. When Ino's stare refused to waver, he glared at her.

"_What?"_

Ino furrowed her brows, "Drinking soda this early in the morning?"

"What of it?"

The girl rolled her pale aquamarine eyes and took a sip of the milk in front of her and resumed playing on her phone. Deidara took a plate from the cupboard to the left of the stove and went to the rice cooker to pile onto his plate. He set the white dish on the tiled countertop and leaned against it, watching Ino impatiently staring at her screen, waiting for a text message. "Can't you ever put your phone down, Barbie?"

Ino turned in her seat and glared at him. "Watch it," She warned, "Or did you forget you look like me?"

"Don't remind me, yeah."

Ino upturned her nose and returned to waiting on the reply. Deidara rolled his eyes and began thinking about what he was doing today.

_Let's see…the guys want to meet up at six. So I'll probably skip the waves today and go to the music store to pick up my guitar…_ He ran a hand through his long, tangled hair in frustration. _Shit my guitar may not even be ready today. Ugh, okay then I'll just chill with Itachi and Madara. But Sasuke is probably there…fuck what am I going to do today?_

"Breakfast is ready." His head snapped towards his mother's retreating form. She smiled at him, carefully balancing a plate of scrambled eggs and spam carefully. Her dark brown hair was let down in thick curls with her bangs parted in the middle to frame her fair skin. Light freckles dusted over the bridge of her nose. "Eat up, Hun. I left your eggs on the pan."

"Thanks mom," He thanked and went to the stove after snatching a fork from the drawer. He piled the beef flavored noodles onto his steaming white rice then dropped the two sunny-side-up eggs onto the plate before heading to the table. His parents had sat down then, and were fishing the scrambled eggs and slices of spam onto their own plates. He took four pinkish-brown slices and set on eating.

The room was relatively quiet, minus the sounds of their forks hitting their plates and the television's chatter of the weather. Ino's phone vibrated against the table, making Deidara jump slightly. She snatched the black android quickly and read over its contents before replying.

"Ino don't text at the table," Inoichi chastised.

Ino didn't answer immediately, too focused on the message, before she finally replied, "Sorry dad, but it was Fubuki. She was telling me that she's picking up her cousins today."

Their mother, Naomi took a casual bite of her food. "Is it Loli and Reita again?"

Ino shook her head, "No, it's Sasori and Sakura. They just moved here and the girls wanted to show them around town."

"Is that what you're doing today," Inoichi asked.

Ino nodded, "Yup. Tayuya said Kimimaro will pick me up at around twelve."

Inoichi then let his eyes drift over towards his son. "That reminds me; Deidara I'll need you to close up the diner tonight. I've got to leave early because your mother and I are meeting Shikaku and Yoshino for dinner."

Without breaking his gaze from his plate, Deidara said, "I can't."

"Deidara I already told you I need you to work today," Inoichi said exasperatedly. "You haven't been in for weeks now."

"I have a job, yeah."

"Don't start with me Deidara."

The teenager just rolled his eyes and took one last bite of his food. "Look I'm busy with work. I'm working today; Onoki already asked if I could come in, yeah," He lied smoothly. "I'll try getting out early to close up but I can't promise anything."

Inoichi glared at his son as he stood from the table. He watched disappointedly as his son dumped his dish into the sink and began walking back towards the stairs. Just before Deidara descended down the steps, Inoichi said, "Promises mean nothing to you anyway."

**.**

**.**

**.**

Deidara eyed his appearance in the mirror; he was dressed in a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, a white and black Nirvana shirt and all-black converse. He had just finished tying his hair in the usual half-ponytail and packed his extra clothes into his drawstring bag was beginning to put in his earrings when he heard a knock.

"What," He yelled over the music that played in the background. The door opened and he poked his head from around the corner of his closet to look at who entered. Seeing his sister standing there, hip cocked and arms crossed, he sighed and used the remote to lower the volume of his iPod. "What do you want Ino?"

"You have to take my shift today."

He knew this was coming, and frankly he didn't care. "I'm not doing shit for you, yeah," He replied as he pushed the needle of his dragon-shaped earring into his lobe. "Besides I'm working today."

"That's bullshit and you know it."

"Why can't you work today, yeah? You never have a problem with working before. Besides, you could use the exercise, Pig."

Ino's cyan eyes narrowed into a glare, "Shut up! You are such an asshole!"

The older of the two rolled his eyes and set a hand against his chest in feigned hurt. "Oh that hurt, Ino. I think I'm going to cry." He then waved a hand dismissively. "I'm not working at the diner today; so get out of my room, yeah."

"Make me."

"Please, like you're a threat to me."

Ino stomped into the room and poked his chest roughly. "What the hell is your problem?"

"I don't know," He replied sarcastically. "Maybe it's my annoying little sister? Get out of my room already!"

"Not until you take my shift!"

"Then you're sleeping in the closet," He snapped, "Because that's never going to happen yeah!" He gripped Ino's shoulders and spun her around so he could push her out the door. She braced her hands against the doorframe, preventing herself from being shoved out and turned to face him.

"You know what, you're just a loser," She yelled, getting into his face. "I don't see why you can't take my shift for _one_ day! Dad needs you and you can't fucking do anything?"

"Why should I," He snapped. "What do you ever do for me? What do _you guys ever_ do for me? Nothing, that's what! Piss off Ino!" Ino and Deidara continued screaming at each other until Naomi ran into the room, demanding they quit fighting. The two continued to fight, even when separated by their brown-haired mother, until Deidara just shut down and ignored them as if they weren't there. He unplugged his iPod, picked up his jacket and drawstring bag, then walked out.

The door slammed behind him.

**Pinky Bruiser**

**Normal POV—Friday—2:30 PM—Classic Bowl—Timberhill Boulevard**

Ten perfectly white bowling pins sat perfectly in perfect position. Dark, iridescent eyes rimmed perfectly in black narrowed in concentration. His arm cocked back, his body shot forward. The dark red ball shot across the glazed-over Tuscan lane, knocking over the ten pins with a loud _crash_.

The teen punched his fist into the air, letting out a satisfied "yes!"

He spun on his heel and bumped his fist against the other teen there. "Good job Madara," The other teen said. He had long black hair tied back into a low ponytail and soft charcoal eyes with gorgeous lashes that curled and tangled at the corner. His ears held a set of tunnels that were just below the "point of no return" and a necklace made of three metal circles rested around his neck.

Madara just shrugged, "No big deal. You're up Sasuke."

A third teen, with cold dark eyes resembling the shinny pistol of a ruthless assassin and hair similar to the wings of a raven in both shape and color, stood from his seat and moved to the ball return, his fingers digging into a dark blue ball with a giant, white circle made of three spiraling tomoe. He lifted the ball, waiting patiently for the pins to be reset while Madara took his seat.

Madara turned to his brother Itachi as he wrapped his long fingers around the blue cup that sat on the table. "Hey Itachi," He called. He and Itachi were close, maybe not as close as he was to Pein or their other brother Izuna, or Itachi was to Kisame and Sasuke, but they were still close.

"What?"

The second oldest Uchiha was a very calm person, rarely ever doing something stupid or reckless. He was what everyone called "the Assigner". He was good at making plans and giving people roles for whatever they did. For example, when a party came around, he'd tell who what to bring, how much of it, and where to go. Madara was wilder, often acting on his emotions and thoughts. While Itachi was straight forward, Madara was sarcastic. Opposites, but strangely parallel.

Sasuke and Izuna shared a lot of similar qualities but couldn't be _farther_ from different. Physically, they shared the same blue-black hair color and raven-wing style, and they both shared the large eyes and fair skin. But they also shared a great admiration for Madara and Itachi, often secretly doing things that begged for their approval, especially as kids. However, like Madara and Itachi, Sasuke took up the hot-blooded, emotion-bound attitude of Madara while Izuna had Itachi's passive personality.

Itachi's dark charcoal eyes were trained on the youngest of the Uchiha siblings as he rolled the ball across the aisle. Six pins fell over.

"You think Ayame's mad at me?"

Itachi shrugged indifferently, "I don't know."

"If you were a chick, would you be mad at me?"

The middle child looked at him with an arched brow. "Honest answer?"

"Honest answer."

Itachi snorted, "I'd be beyond pissed." Madara let out a 'damn'. Itachi rolled his eyes then, "You _did_ ditch her at Hashirama's party."

"Her fault," Madara argued. "If she wasn't such a bitch I wouldn't have ditched her last week. Not my fault she can't handle her beer." Sasuke returned to the seats and took a seat across from his two older brothers. Madara turned in his seat and searched the bowling alley for the remainder of the little party. "Where the fuck is Tobi, Obito and Izuna? They're up next."

Sasuke shrugged, "Probably fucking around somewhere."

Itachi stood up, "Well I'm up. Check the food stand." Madara grunted and left while Itachi went to bowl his turn. Madara jogged over to the built-in café and searched the crowd for his cousins and brother, finding them sitting at a table near the middle. He approached them, glaring.

"Hey bro what's up," His younger brother Izuna greeted, casually. His hair was dark black with an iridescent tint of blue when in the right light, and was spiked in choppy layers at the back. His bangs had a few slapdash streaks of copper-orange and spilled over his forehead, resting just above his eyebrows. His skin was fair, very similar to Sasuke's, and his eyes were a dark shade of brown.

Madara's glare lessened a bit before he sighed, dropping the scowl completely. "You're up Tobi." A teen with black spiky hair jumped up. He had handsome boyish looks, and large brown eyes accompanying his dark brown-almost black spiky hair. He wore a pair of black wrap-around glasses at all times, and was rarely ever seen with them off. Unlike his mostly calm and collected cousins, Tobi was more easy-going and childish, often playing around (although a bit _too_ much sometimes). And he had a habit of annoying people (mainly his best friend Deidara) just for fun, often dismissing their arguments with a chipper "Tobi is a good boy!"

"Right! Sorry," He apologized, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Lost track of time…"

The other two, Obito and Izuna, stood up and they hurried back to their lane. Itachi and Sasuke were waiting patiently while Tobi dug his fingers into a black and orange ball.

"So anyway," Izuna started as he looked up from the message on his phone. "I can't hang out at the Warehouse today, I promised the neighbors I'd watch over Konohamaru."

Obito shrugged, "I can't go either. Kakashi and I are going on a double-date with Anko and Shizune."

"Anko," The boys all chorused, shocked. "Dude, if any of the girls heard you were going on a date with _Miss Demeanor_, they'd _kill_ you."

"Well so long as I get a little ass, I'll die a happy death."

Ten pins fell.

**Pinky Bruiser**

**Normal POV—Friday—3:13 PM—Paradise Restaurant—Ocean Avenue**

The room chattered busily, heat forcing the staff to keep the windows open and air conditioning blasting. The scent of freshly cooked beef filled the air along with the wafting aroma of steamed rice.

A teen with dark skin sat in a booth, his skin sticking slightly against the faux leather when he moved. It was one-hundred degrees today, much too hot for his liking, but he didn't say anything about it. He removed his beanie from his sweating head, tendrils of black hair and dreads spilling out and onto his dark green Metallica shirt while his hands rubbed the fabric of his ripped up blue jeans impatiently.

"Will you shut the fuck up already?!"

A sigh escaped Kakuzu's lips as he slapped a hand to his forehead. Why he hung out with these people was beyond him. "Hidan just shut up and drop it."

The white haired teen turned his magenta eyes on his cousin angrily. "Wh-what? _Dude_, Zetsu started it!" Hidan pointed to the teen sitting in the booth across from Kakuzu. His choppy hair was bright green and spiked towards the left haphazardly with the lock of hair framing the left side of his face dyed black. His eyes were a golden amber color. In his left ear, he had a large, white spiral and the other had a black one. His camouflage tank top looked new in comparison to his stark black super-skinny jeans which were distressed and splattered with bleach stains, and his black Vans with the white skulls looked no better as there were giant holes in the fabric.

"And I'm ending it."

Hidan shifted his weight to lean against the vacant table behind him and began playing with the eyelet in his right ear. "Whatever," He muttered, "What are you guys doing here anyway? Don't you have better to things to do?"

That was a total lie and he knew it. The guys constantly came into the restaurant just to get Hidan into trouble. They'd complain about the ice melting too quickly, or constantly request for utensils because they'd either dropped them or because they were never given any. More lies. Hidan knew not to take it personally, as they did the same to Deidara when he worked at Yamanaka's Diner.

Zetsu shrugged casually, "We're heading to Pein's in a little while. We were hungry and thought we'd stop by." Then he gave Hidan a daring glare, "Is there a problem with that?"

"Yeah, why the hell did you come _here_?"

"It's cheaper here," Kakuzu answered, jade eyes roaming over the menu. He had looked over the menu a million times before, and even though he memorized nearly every item on the menu and got the same exact thing, he still looked it over.

Hidan rolled his eyes and ran a hand over his gelled hair to smooth it out. "Of course; I shouldn't have expected any less, Scrooge."

Kakuzu ignored the comment and finally picked his order, the same exact thing he always ordered. "Give me a bowl of chicken wanton."

"I'll have orange chicken," Zetsu added, handing Hidan the menu. Hidan snatched it from his ringed fingers rudely, doing the same to Kakuzu's outstretched menu.

As he walked away, he began yelling the orders at one of the chefs in Mandarin.

.

.

.

Kakuzu and Zetsu shared a glance. Their plates held little traces of food, only pieces of bean sprouts and stray grains of soy-sauce laden rice left on their plates. Kakuzu's bowl had only a tiny puddle of brown broth at the bottom with a few tiny noodles and herbs floating. Kakuzu nodded and the two scooted out of the maroon booth, both throwing down some cash.

The two passed Hidan on their way out, waving their goodbyes before jogging out onto the sidewalk. Hidan grumbled and rushed to their abandoned table to collect their dishes, only to curse at the little parting gift the group _always_ left when eating.

The salt shaker was tilted on its side, balanced against the very edge of the bottle.

**Pinky Bruiser**

**Normal POV—Friday—5:30 PM—Fuuma Household—Chrysanthemum Drive**

Bright ocher eyes fluttered open at the feeling of the bed shifting. She was still glimmering with sweat when she rolled over to look at Pein as he dressed himself. She sat up, groaning and setting a hand against her pierced belly.

Pein glanced at her over his shoulder and smirked, his body still flushed from their lovemaking just minutes ago. "How do you feel?"

A flirty smile tugged at Konan's lips but she pushed it away. "What do you think," was her vague reply. She'd much rather give her boyfriend the satisfaction of thinking he pleasured her when in reality she faked her orgasm to get it over with. It pained her to think that way, but she couldn't help it.

Pein just chuckled and smoothed out the free hairs about his head. He searched his pockets for his phone, grunting when he realized he left it on the bedside table. When he picked up his cellular device, he placed a kiss atop Konan's lips.

"I'll meet you outside."

She smiled at him, "Give me thirty minutes, okay?"

"Yeah."

.

.

.

Konan climbed down the stairs quickly, her cellphone in one hand and jacket in the other. When she reached the bottom, she ran into the kitchen to snatch a bottle of water from the fridge and took a pill container from her jacket pocket. She shook the bottle's contents into her hands and swallowed the tiny white pill and tossed the empty container into the trash bin.

When she turned, she grimaced at the living conditions. The kitchen was small like the rest of the house. The walls a dim, off-white color with faded smears of food sauce. The living room was equally small, with a large flat screen against the wall beside the window, a black pull-out couch, a recliner, coffee table and loveseat scattered about the room. The coffee table had ring-stains from someone's cup and magazines were thrown carelessly about the table.

The couch was occupied by a guy with bright orange hair exactly like Pein's, only with the side-locks longer than her boyfriend's. His eyes were also a stunning bright blue, and his pierced lips held a seemingly permanent smirk of perverted intention. This was Pein's older brother, twenty-four year old tattoo artist Yahiko Fuuma, Pein's rightful guardian.

Their father had walked out on them after Pein was born, and their mother had been so caught up on drugs, alcohol and sex that they couldn't handle it. When he was sixteen, Yahiko had legally emancipated himself and taken Pein, arguing to the courts that their mother was terribly unfit to parent over him. Now that he began going to the local college for Asian Studies, Yahiko spent a lot of his time out of the house so he could study in peace. But apparently today, Yahiko had decided to come home early from university.

"Hey Yahiko," She greeted.

Yahiko leaned back against the couch, taking a drag of his cigarette casually. He blew out the smoke. "Hey; Pein's waiting outside."

"I know."

He tapped a finger against his cigarette, letting the ashes fall into the ash tray on the armrest. "Sorry I can't make your game today. I'm busy with homework. You know, finals coming up."

She waved a hand dismissively, "No worries. I'll see you later, right?"

"Maybe."

She threw him a half-hearted smile then ran outside and into Pein's car.

**Pinky Bruiser**

**Normal POV—6:40 PM—Friday—The Warehouse—Cherry Street**

Kisame checked over his reflection in the tiny mirror on his car doors.

_Objects in mirror may be larger than they appear._

He licked the pads of his thumb and forefinger then twirled one of the teased out spikes of hair between them. It was hot, much too hot to be normal.

_We're in Konohagakure,_ he thought to himself bitterly, _when I think of "Leafs" I think nice, warm weather. Not L. A. or Suna weather._

Sighing, the tall, blue-haired teen plucked the tiny white dust puffs from his shirt and searched the glove compartment for a pair of sunglasses, cursing when he didn't find any. He harrumphed and fell back against his seat, arms crossed in annoyance. After a few seconds, he learned forward and changed the radio station.

He flickered through multiple stations before angrily giving up and pulling the visor down. A black sling was across the visor, with multicolored CDs stored in the sleeves. He ran his sweaty fingers over the cool disk, black eyes scanning over the names quickly.

Lincoln Park

Eminem

Sum41

Sublime

There was so much to choose from! He slipped the Eminem CD from its sleeve and popped it into the player, waiting for the music to begin. When Crack a Bottle began, he began bobbing his head to the song and drumming his palms against the steering wheel, singing quietly every now and then.

His pale skin was slick with sweat, his favorite dark blue Sloppy Meat Eaters shirt sticking to his skin. He pulled on the collar a few times to ease his body of the heat. He had just returned from a game of basketball with his cousin Suigetsu Downtown. They were in a playful, somewhat aggressive one-on-one game, with Kisame teasing the boy about his height every chance he could.

Though he and his cousin weren't close, and the game was a product of Suigetsu's older brother's nagging, he had fun. Suigetsu was usually overly sarcastic, even too much for Kisame's liking. Then again, that's what he liked about the boy—when he was younger, he was a pushover. Now, Kisame thought, he's a real man.

The chorus came, as did his friends. He turned the car off and stepped out, slamming the door loudly behind him. He wrapped his fingers over the belt that held his pants up and began running over to the orange-haired teen and his vixen of a girlfriend.

He greeted them as he always did—a one-armed hug for Konan, and a manly handshake-fist bump combo for Pein. Other teens were already converging, rushing to get inside. He quickly fished his wallet out and handed the five dollar bill to the man on the left of the entrance, Kotetsu, then hurried to find a seat before they were all taken. Then he spotted two of the Uchiha siblings, Izuna and Madara sitting not too far away, talking.

"Good luck Konan," He said over his shoulder, silently waiting for Pein to join him.

She smirked and walked towards the locker rooms.

**Pinky Bruiser**

**Normal POV—Half Time—The Warehouse**

The girls flew by in whirrs of color. The cheering was getting louder, the music nearly being drowned out by the immense nose. Pein, Madara and Kisame were fired up. They yelled at the Jammer Referee (the guy who watches the Jammers) when he called a foul on Indy Cent, also known as Itachi's girlfriend Yukie.

Itachi had left earlier, saying something about Deidara calling him, and Hidan and Kakuzu had arrived not too long later. It was halftime now. Izuna, Hidan and Kakuzu volunteered to hold their seats while they went to pick up food for them.

Madara, Kisame and Pein spent a good five minutes in line before they made their large orders of chili cheese fries, a burrito, two slices of pizza, a Polish hot dog, and four BBQ and rice boxes (which they had to order at another spot).

They were waiting now, talking about their plans for the weekend, where they were going, who would be there and so on. They hadn't been talking long when they heard a loud whistle, the signature greeting of Deidara approaching. The three greeted the blond haired teen and Itachi, asking where they've been.

"I had to hide out. Dad wanted me to take Ino's shift at the diner, yeah," Deidara replied with the roll of his eyes. "Then my car broke down so I called Itachi."

The raven haired teen then crossed his arms, an annoyed expression on his face. "You owe me gas money."

A laugh escaped Kisame's throat, a loud reverberating sound that made other people want to laugh because it was _that_ contagious. "You sound like Kakuzu."

"When you don't have a job, you'd sound like him too."

Then, they heard a loud sound, something that sounded like a gasp and shout of shock.

"Watch where you're going!"

"I am _so_ sorry!"

**Pinky Bruiser**

It was as if time had slowed.

It felt like a million eyes were on her, scrutinizing her, laughing at her. Sakura's eyes fell over the stained writing on the girl's shirt once more, asking herself if she was really in this overly cliché situation.

_I can't be_, she told herself,_ this only happens in movies._

_I did _not_ just spill my soda on Leada Riot's shirt._

_**You spilled Sasori's.**_

"I-I am so sorry," Sakura repeated, reaching to wipe Konan's shirt. Konan batted her hand away and skated backwards a step.

"You've _got_ to be _kidding_ me," Konan groaned, her tone one of pure, unadulterated anger. Her amber eyes met Sakura's and she fisted the girl's gray and pink shirt in her hands, her light blue nails digging into the fabric.

Sakura began pulling away from her, "Look I'm sorry. It was an accident."

"I don't give a rat's ass if it was an accident," Konan snapped, her fingers tightening around the fabric. "You ruined my shirt and now it's all sticky!"

"Not like you're not use to it."

Konan turned her head and saw the two other pink haired girls Tayuya and Fubuki, along with Ino and a guy with red and black hair. "Excuse me?"

Fubuki set her hands on her hips, "I _said_: It's not like you're not use to it! Now let her go!"

When the blue haired girl refused, Ino got into her face with her blue eyes narrowed into a glare. "What's your problem Konan," She snapped, "Picking on girls. That was an accident and you know it!"

Konan's face fell back into that impassive shield. Though her eyes showed all the anger she had. The blue haired girl focused her attention on Sakura who looked like she was about to faint. Her skin was flushed, her eyes wide and glimmering. It almost made Konan smirk. She loved the control she had over the girl, how she could make her bend and break.

"What, is this a new clown for your little circus," Konan asked, referring to Sakura's hair with her free hand. She ran her hand through Sakura's hair her lips twitching when the pinkette winced.

Tayuya stepped forward, a fist raised in a threatening motion. "None of your damned business that's for sure! Now let her go!"

Sakura's jade eyes moved frantically, searching for someone to reach out for. Sasori caught her gaze, and moved forward. He put his hand between them, instantly noticing the way a certain group of guys suddenly tensed up.

"Calm down," He said to all the girls. "It was an accident and she said sorry. Just let her go and we'll get out of the way."

Konan eyed him before scoffing and pushing Sakura away and into the arms of her cousins. They stood in front of her protectively. "Piece of trash," Konan mumbled and began walking away,

However, Tayuya would have none of that. "What the fuck did you just say!?"

"You heard me."

Tayuya reached forward, her fingernails digging into Konan's shoulder and forced her to turn around. "Say it again," She dared, eyes narrowed into a glare. "I fucking dare you to say it to my face."

"She's a piece of trash."

Ino grabbed Tayuya around the arm and pulled her back. "Fuck off Konan." The girl just ignored the blond and skated towards Sakura.

She then smirked at the pinkette, "Look at that—a family of pink haired wannabees." Sakura frowned and mustered up her courage to move forward, past Fubuki and Tayuya.

"Just leave us alone," Sakura pleaded, but with an even voice.

"Learn your place around here, Pinky."

Ino rolled her eyes, "_So_ original Konan! Did you think of that yourself?"

Konan continued to ignore Ino and her sarcasm as if she wasn't even there. Instead, she was focused on tearing apart the new pink haired girl that had spilled a carbonated drink on her. She knew it was an accident and was originally going to let her walk away. But after seeing the girls from her rivaling team defending her, she couldn't help but want to poke at their buttons, rile them up.

Sakura removed herself from the cousins' grasps and stood directly in front of the taller girl. Sasori stepped in the middle of them, putting an arm between them. Sakura had never gotten into a fight before, and he knew these roller derby girls were brutal. He needed to protect his sister no matter what the cost.

"Break it up," He snapped.

"Leave us alone," Sakura repeated, her voice gaining more confidence with each passing word. Eventually, her brows knitted and her pretty jade eyes narrowed.

Konan's eyes lit up mischievously. So the little girl wanted to talk? "Look who suddenly grew balls," She mocked, poking Sakura in the forehead with each word.

Sakura slapped her hand away, her anger slowly building, boiling hotter and hotter. She was beginning to feel like she was losing control of her anger; she could feel it coursing through her veins. She could feel her chest tightening.

"You better back the fuck up," The pinkette snapped. Sasori's head snapped towards her in disbelief. Tayuya, Ino and Fubuki just sat back, eyes glinting with surprise. "And don't touch me."

Konan retracted her hand and set it to her chest in mock hurt. "Well, I'm _so scared_."

"Good," Sakura said, then kicked Konan's skate with a smirk as she tumbled to the ground arms flailing in a last ditch effort to stop the fall. Tayuya, Ino and Fubuki roared with laughter and pointed at the humiliated girl on the ground. Snickers erupted from the people who stopped what they were doing, and others hela their cameras and cellphones out.

Konan had _never_ been humiliated like that in her life! How dare this…pink haired, bug eyed _freak_ yell at her, especially in front of so many people! It was unheard of. She stood up and shoved the pinkette who stumbled into Ino's arms. Tayuya and Fubuki then went into defensive mode and stepped up into Konan's face. The three girls began yelling, screaming and shoving. Sasori tried his best to keep them all apart, but found himself greatly outnumbered.

Eventually he set a hand on the aggressive blue haired girl's shoulder and pushed her an arm's length away, his eyes cold.

"Don't fucking touch her. Or any of them."

Sasori suddenly found himself shoved roughly. When he looked up, he found a guy with spiked and teased orange hair, his face peppered with piercings and a pissed off expression on his face. "Don't touch my girl."

"Tell your girl not to touch my sister." The two guys stood nose-to-nose, glaring at each other.

"Hey." Sakura turned and found herself face to face with a plate of chili cheese fries.

**Pinky Bruiser**

"Hey," Deidara called. The girl with pink hair turned; he put a hand against the back of her head, and smashed the plate of chili cheese fries all over her face, his blue-gray eyes dancing with mirth. She pushed him away, but he only pushed the plate upwards so it now matted up her hair in yellow and brown.

Sasori instantly shoved Deidara away from his sister, eyes furious and wide. "What the fuck is your problem?"

"What's yours," Deidara snapped, his eyes narrowing into a glare. He glanced over Sasori's shoulder to look at Konan. Now Sasori and Deidara were arguing, and Pein soon joined in. Ino, Fubuki and Tayuya went back to screaming at Konan and Sakura just stood there, covered in cheese. Tears began building up, stinging her eyes.

"Oh look, she's crying," Someone pointed out. She could hear snickers and laughter, with the occasional "damn that's hella messed up". The chili had gotten into her eyes, burning them painfully. She wiped her eyes away and ran off.

**Pinky Bruiser**

**Author's Note:** And that was chapter five. I hope you guys liked it. It's 12:00 now, so I'm pretty tired. So I'm sorry if the ending sucked. I kinda lost my train of thought after Konan started feeling embarrassed/humiliated about Sakura knocking her over and stuff.

So as always, please review!

-Amaya and Aiko


	6. Complicated

**Pinky Bruiser**

**Summary:** _She was a nobody, a push over. She just wanted to fit in. When her cousins bring her to a roller derby game, she runs into a skater, causing a fight between two rival squads. If that wasn't bad enough, the boys of the hockey team embarrassed her in front of everyone because of it. And now, Sakura has a decision that could change her life. "Goodbye Sakura Haruno, hello Pinky Bruiser!"_

**Aiko's Author's Note: Well, here we go with another chapter. So far almost all our stories have been updated!**

**Amaya's Author's Note: Also, we would like to say we've never seen the movie Whip It. We've never ever heard about it until we we're asked about it in a review. So no, we didn't steal any ideas or names from there. But it sounds like a good movie and we hope to watch it soon if it's on Netflix.**

**Also, we've decided to change the name of Sasori and Sakura's mother from Nadine to Nika. We are going to change it when we can use an actual computer to fix it.**

**Important Words:**

**Ace:** _A term used by surfers to describe someone who is alone_  
_or in a solitary state of mind._

**Ankle-snappers:** _Small waves that barely rise above the water_

**Pound-hug: **_That weird hug-handshake thing guys do; where both parties_  
_shake each other's hand then hug. Wikipedia has a better_  
_definition._

**Lastly, remember how I mentioned that Izuna, Hidan and Kakuzu offered to hold Madara, Pein and Kisame's seats in the previous chapter, leading up to the Deidara-Sakura-Chili Cheese Fries moment? It shouldn't say Izuna, it should say Zetsu. Sorry, apparently Windows auto-corrects the misspelling **

So, I wonder if you guys will catch what Ino does in this chapter. She does something really weird. But anyway, enjoy the chapter!

**UPDATED/EDITED: May 15, 2013**

**Chapter Six:**

_**Normal POV—Friday 8:00 PM—Cherry Street**_

She didn't know where she was going. And frankly, she didn't care. All that mattered to her was the fact that she was covered in food all because of a boy who meddled into her fight and that she felt utterly humiliated.

"Are you okay," She heard people ask as she ran past them. She ignored them, her tears blurring her vision by burning her eyes and she tried in vain to wipe the tears away.

She could hear cars around her. She could smell the delicious pizza being made at a pizza joint. The book store across the street looked vaguely familiar, and the crowded ice cream parlor beside her smelled familiarly sweet and the air conditioning felt amazingly cool against her heated skin. She swore she could hear her name being called in the distance.

She could hear more cars now, their engines purring loudly as they drove past as if she didn't even exist. As if she was never there.

Her run slowed into a walk and she dragged her eyes over everything around her in an attempt to find where she was. There were lots of stores, a gas station, and a residential neighborhood in front of her, but no beach so she couldn't be on Ocean Avenue. She couldn't recognize anything, nothing at all other than that book store. Inwardly, she cursed herself for not paying attention to where she was.

An empty bus stop came into view. Quickly, Sakura sat down and buried her face into her right arm, wiping away her tears. Her hands winded upwards into her hair, clenching her ruined locks of pink. She looked down at her yellow and brown hands and wiped them on her pale blue jeans angrily.

She heard a car door slam, and feet pummeling against the pavement before someone pulled her up and into a tight hug. Her tears increased tenfold; she fisted Sasori's black shirt, her fingers smearing the mixture of cheese and chili on the material. Sasori dug her face closer to him, into the dip of his chest and neck, and soothingly rubbed his hands over her back.

She cried to her heart's content, her body trembling with her sobs.

"I'm sorry," Sakura sobbed. "I'm getting your shirt dirty."

Sasori let out a soft laugh, "You're covered in chili and you're sorry about getting _my_ shirt dirty?" He ran his fingers through her matted pink locks and flicked the excess cheese and chili from his hands. "C'mon squirt, let's go home."

He kept an arm around her as he led her the way he came. Her eyes remained downcast, counting the squares in the sidewalk in a childish manner. Soon, a black van slowed to a stop beside them and the sliding door opened to reveal Sakon and Ukon, both bearing worried expressions. Sasori helped Sakura into the van before climbing in.

Kiba was driving with Ino in the front seat, and she, Sasori and the twins in the back. Sakon was on the phone with Tayuya, and had told her they found Sakura when Ino turned around in her seat with a worried expression. "Are you alright?"

Sakura forced a smile. "I'm fine…"

Ino offered her a sad smile, "I'm so sorry about that. Deidara…he…well he's a jerk. When I get home I'm going to tell Dad what happened, yeah." The blond set a hand on Sakura's stained sleeve, an angry look crossing her pretty face, before she turned away.

The pinkette sadly looked down at her feet. She felt like such a burden. She always let herself be pushed around, and when she finally stood up for herself everyone got into trouble. She hated being so bipolar and flipping between her emotions. She was just trying to do what Tayuya told her; to stop being so sorry about everything and feeling so pathetic.

Tayuya and Fubuki always joked about Sakura never being able to unleash her "Inner Bitch", that little inner persona that was who you really were. They constantly poked fun at her because of it, because she was always so shy and submissive. Sometimes they even said she didn't even have that inner strength and that she was naturally weak. Sure, there were times where she'd erupt in anger because of Tayuya's teasing going too far or Sasori saying something incredibly sexist, but never had she _ever_ challenged someone in an argument, a stranger no less.

When Konan grabbed her, she wasn't sure what to do. She felt sick to her stomach, scared even. All the emotions she felt swarmed her all in one giant collision and nearly sent her reeling to the ground. Asking her to stop obviously didn't work, so she had to get more aggressive. Her anger was just being tested; Konan was _trying_ to make her angry because she saw Sakura as weak. She thought Sakura was going to accept it.

_That's how all bullies are._

hen Konan finally pressed down on her trigger, she snapped.

_**And you liked it.**_

**.**

**.**

**.**

_**Normal POV—Friday 9:22 PM—Haruno-Akasuna Residence, Chamomile Ct.—Sakura's bedroom**_

Sakura lay in her bed, back facing the ceiling. Her hair was still damp from her shower and her body felt a bit cold. It had taken her an hour to completely wash out the cheesy goop and she still felt like she reeked of chili. The night was somewhat cool today; a sign that summer was slowly beginning to taper into autumn. When she and Sasori got home with Tayuya and Fubuki accompanying them, their parents went into "parental unit mode".

Nika had gently pressed a hand against Sakura's cheek as she asked what happened, and the two pink haired cousins explained the details of the night with Konan and the cheese fries. And their father had demanded to know why Sasori had a bruise on his cheek.

"Her boyfriend showed up and he brought his friends," Was all he had to say. After a good interrogation, Fubuki and Tayuya piled back into Kimimaro's car and left while Sakura went to take a shower.

That leaves us to now, where the knocking of the door caught Sakura's attention. She didn't answer, silently begging whoever it was to think she was asleep and go away. She didn't want to talk to anybody or let them see the fresh batch of tears beginning to sting at her watering eyes. That's why she raised the volume on her TV.

The knocking ceased and she thought the person left. But fate seemed to be against her as the door just opened without her consent. Sasori walked into the room with two plates of steaming chicken, rice, macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes balanced in his arms. He shut the door with his foot and set the plates on the carpet before sitting on the bed beside her. He set his hand atop her head and began petting her as if she were a pet.

"Hey," He said softly, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," She replied, but Sasori knew better. Usually he wouldn't bother with the overly soft brother act, and he'd generally leave her alone to get her tears out. But he knew that with all the bad luck they've had in the past few months, she was really fragile and needed someone to hold.

His brows furrowed. What was he supposed to say to this? This was why he didn't usually comfort her. Carefully, awkwardly he asked, "How do you really feel?"

"Like shit."

He sighed. "Look, if you sit here and mope about it, you'll feel worse. Just brush it off your shoulder and you'll be fine." Sakura stayed silent, but nodded, absentmindedly staring at the television. Sasori followed her gaze; the T. V. was airing a commercial for some show he didn't really care about. "If it makes you feel any better, I busted that asshole's lip."

A small smile came to her face at the thought of the perpetrator sporting a nasty gash in his lip. He certainly deserved it. Sasori, who saw the tiny grin, let out a chuckle. "I brought some food; I thought you could use it."

He picked up the plates as she sat up and handed her the plate without gravy on the mashed potatoes. For as long as he could remember, Sakura never liked gravy. She was a picky eater when it came to a lot of things. She didn't like vegetables unless they were finely cut and hidden in her food and accented the meal, she was allergic to seafood so she didn't eat sushi; cherries and grapes were an absolute "no" and gravy was a thing she only ate when she had a sudden craving. Other than that, she ate a lot of food.

He sat down on the floor in front of her, snatching the remote from the ground so he could change the channel. His eyes searched over the titles written on the guide for a good two minutes before clicking on the show _Ridiculousness_. The two watched with entertained expressions, and when they finished, they just pulled the futon out and watched the marathon.

"Sakura," Nika called from behind the door. Sakura told her to come in, and when she did she smiled at the two. She sat on the bed beside Sasori. "How are you feeling?"

Sakura gave a smile, a real one this time. "I'm fine. I just brushed it off my shoulders." She threw her brother a look as she said this, silently thanking him for helping her out.

Nika smiled, "Good, that's my girl." She looked at Sasori then with approving pinkish-gray eyes. "Are you guys ready for school? It's coming up and we need to get you two some paper and stuff. You dad and I just got out paychecks so we can go tomorrow if you'd like."

Sasori shrugged apathetically, "That's fine for me."

"Me too."

"Alright, I'll take your plates then," Nika stood up and picked up the two finished dishes, "We'll leave around noon, okay? Good night."

"Goodnight mom."

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—Saturday 1:00 PM—Ocean Beach—Ocean Avenue**_

The sun was shining brightly in the deep blue sky. The clouds were nearly transparent streaks of cotton, and people were walking all around the beach. The smell of the salty ocean water, which was a bright blue, filled the nostrils of the nineteen year old blonde, Deidara Yamanaka. His long hair was left out of its usual half-ponytail and glistened in the sun. He removed his shirt and set it down next to his girlfriend, Aya, who was sun-tanning on a large green towel.

He loved the water, the large expanse of aquamarine sea. He loved the way the slushy sand felt between his toes and how soothing the cool water felt against his skin. To him, the ocean was his escape from reality, his salvation that saved him from the angst of the concrete jungle known as civilization.

The unpredictability of Mother Nature, the irregularity of the fiery rippling tides, the adrenaline that accompanies the fear of crashing into jagged rocks…he loved it all. It was so quick, so sporadic and awesome that it was explosive. It was, in his eyes, an art form. A beautiful art form.

"Deidara, can you add some tanning block to my back?" She asked boredly. Deidara picked up the brown bottle she held out to him and did as told. Once finished, he stood up.

"I'm gonna catch some waves, alright baby?" He asked, though both knew he wouldn't stop even if she told him not to. He picked up the yellow surf board next to him and went out towards the ocean. He treaded farther out and climbed onto his board.

For a while he rode out the waves; he wanted to wait until he found the one he really wanted. It was a perfect sized wave, and there was no one around to take it from him. Seeing the opportunity, he caught onto the wave and rode it like a pro. His fingers brushed against the wave as it began to funnel around him, surrounding his warm body with an exhilarating self-assurance that made his heart drop into his stomach. A smile graced his lips at the feeling of the cool water on his fingers and splashing onto his skin. Once the wave receded, he let himself fall into the cold water. He swam back up to the surface and pulled himself to sit on his board. He flipped his hair away from his face then waited for the next one.

As he waited, he noticed another surfer coming towards him. Deidara waited patiently, waiting for the surfer to approach before giving a nod of equal greeting. Kisame stopped beside him, his un-gelled blue hair left to spill over his head casually and all piercings removed to reveal a fantastic hole where his tapers once were. Deidara always thought Kisame reminded him of a shark—looks intimidating, but generally harmless until you irritate him. That's when he bites.

"Hey man," Kisame greeted, putting a fist out as greeting.

"Hey," Deidara replied, bumping his fist against the taller man. "What's up? Are you heading to the Arcade today?"

Kisame looked forward at the passing waves, a hand over his brow to shield the sun from his eyes. He spent a lot of time out on the water, too. It was actually where the two had met two years ago, when they accidentally collided into each other. "Yeah; I'm leaving in a few minutes. Tobi gets off in about an hour, so he won't be there till later," he finally replied. "What about you?"

Deidara ran a hand through his long blond hair tiredly. "Not today. I'll be there tomorrow for sure."

"You look totally ace right now, Deidara. What's wrong?" The blonde snorted at the comment and gave a small, indifferent shrug of his shoulders.

"…there's too many ankle-snappers, yeah. Not enough waves." Kisame nodded in agreement, though inwardly he was itching to chase the wave that began forming just a few yards away. Kisame knew something was bothering the blond. Usually, the blond was ripping and carving the waves around them, not sitting and waiting. He was a spontaneous person who jumped at the chance of surfing, even if the waves weren't as beautiful as he liked.

"How's your jaw?" Deidara harrumphed at the question and refused to answer. His lip bore a hideous gash just before the middle, and it stung whenever anything, even air, touched it. That redhead back at the Warehouse really let him have it, knocking him on his ass in one surprise punch. When he finally jolted out of his stupor Kisame, being the level-headed pacifist, had pulled him away before he could fight back.

And when he got home, an extremely pissed off Inoichi had given him a lecture, obviously tipped off by his younger sister. He and Deidara got into an argument about it, with Deidara saying he did it because the pink haired girl had been the provoker, not the victim like Ino said. Inoichi wouldn't have any of it and took his truck away. If Deidara had to or wanted to go somewhere, he had to bus there for two whole weeks.

Silence passed between the two surfers for a while until Deidara began paddling back towards the shore.

Concerned, Kisame called for his blonde friend, "Deidara?" Deidara waved him off and went back to the shore. Kisame shook his head and went off upon seeing a wave he wanted. Deidara let his board stick into the hot white sand as he collapsed on the blanket next to his girlfriend. He shook his head wildly, playfully causing droplets of water to land on the beautiful girl beside him. Annoyed, Aya sat up and slapped his arm but he only laughed at her.

"Deidara quit it!" She snapped before lying back down on the blanket. "Go dry off with a towel or something but don't touch me."

"You wound me, milady, but thine humble servant shall obey his beloved Queen," Deidara sighed in feigned defeat.

Aya smiled and pulled her sunglasses down to reveal her eyes. "Good, your majesty is pleased and shall reward her handsome follower greatly." Sensing the flirtatious teasing Aya laced her words with, along with the subliminal promise, he decided to obediently lie down next to her while he waited for Kisame.

"Hey Aya," He called after a minute or so.

"Yeah?"

Deidara leaned over her and gave her a soft kiss despite the pain in his lip telling him not to. "I love you, yeah."

A smile crossed her face. "I love you too."

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—Saturday 2:30 PM—Ocean Avenue**_

Hidan and Kakuzu stepped off the bus at the corner of Ocean and Silver, roller blades slung over their shoulders. With a sigh, the white and red bus pulled away as the two cousins walked along the sidewalks.

"I really don't want to see that bastard today."

Kakuzu rolled his eyes at Hidan's overly-said statement. He shrugged the laces of his skates up higher onto his shoulder. "Then go back home."

Hidan ran a hand through his un-gelled platinum blond-almost white hair and let out a frustrated groan. "Then what am I going to do?"

"Will you just shut up," Kakuzu snapped, annoyed with his cousin's constant whining. He wasn't sure why he bothered putting up with Hidan when all he did was complain and act as if he could do whatever he wanted. Hidan was a foul-mouthed delinquent who had gone to juvenile facilities several times for misdemeanors like vandalism and disturbing the peace. He and Kakuzu met each other when they were seven years old and hardly saw each other unless they were at a family party. But when Hidan was fourteen, he moved in with Kakuzu and his aunt after getting into trouble one too many times back in Oakland and his mother refused to put up with him anymore.

So Kakuzu had to put up with his constant complaints and 2 AM music binges from his favorite band, Jashin. Oddly enough, Kakuzu really didn't mind. Especially since Hidan seemed to calm down and wasn't as aggressive as he was before. He actually enjoyed Hidan's company despite the many arguments they shared.

"If you didn't want to come you shouldn't have called in sick at the restaurant and gone home before we had got on the bus."

Hidan harrumphed and began fiddling with the eyelet in his right ear, a habit he picked up when he was a kid. When he was annoyed about something, he'd play with his ear. Strange, yes, but he didn't care. He'd read somewhere that the ear was a sensitive zone that could help with stress or something when scratched or rubbed, and it usually worked for him.

"Hey," Hidan called after a minute or so of silence. "Did you bring money?"

Of course Kakuzu brought money, he _always_ had money. Everyone joked around about him being greedy when it came to money and constantly called him cheap, but they knew it was because of Kakuzu's past with money. When he was younger, his father had left him and his mother alone and they had a hard time growing up with a single-parent salary. And when Hidan moved in with him it was even harder. He hated not having at least enough for bus fare and a meal, so he made it a habit to constantly carry around some cash.

"Yeah," He answered. "Why?"

"I forgot my wallet at home."

"Fuck you Hidan. Fuck you."

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—Saturday 1:00 PM—Terramonte Mall**_

Sasori slammed the car door behind him and looked up at the mall. It was small, single-storied and looked like it was frequented by annoying students after school and old people in the morning. And it most likely was occupied by said people since the biggest high school in the area was down the street and multiple houses surrounded the building. But the parking lot surrounding the building was packed and multiple busses pulled up to the island-bus stop every few minutes with a fresh batch of people.

When he saw the rest of his family ahead of him, he followed. The side of the mall they entered was in between Target and McDonald's, with a sign labeled "autumn" in a color scheme of dark reds and browns above the glass doors. When Mebuki opened the doors, cold air flooded over his skin, blowing his black and red hair over his flushed cheeks.

He held the door open for Sakura and a couple behind them before rushing to catch up with his family. To his left, the McDonald's was filled with people eating ice cream and French fries while a security guard casually stood in front of the Target entrance. The mall was mostly filled with adults and middle-school kids, and the color scheme was also of reds and browns.

"Okay," Mebuki sighed as he stood in front of a directory. His eyes scanned over the store names quickly. "Okay, so why don't we go to Target," He pointed behind them, "to get your school supplies and some clothes. Then you guys can go wherever you want to go—Hot Topic, Payless whatever. Then in about two or so hours, we'll get something to eat and go to Ross for some more clothes."

"Sounds good," Sakura said from beside Sasori. The redhead nodded in agreement and hurried to grab a cart inside.

**.**

**.**

**.**

Sakura looked at the rack in front of her unsurely. The clothes were…nice, and the price pretty good. But she didn't really see anything that felt like…_her_. There lots of nice clothes she wouldn't mind wearing and all, but she didn't want to just wear something. She wanted something that had personality, something that she could wear and feel like herself in. Part of her wanted to buy that pretty green shirt with the ruffles at the collar, but part of her wanted to stick to the plain white shirt in the back.

"What's wrong honey," Nika asked as she stood beside her step-daughter. "Can't find anything?"

Sakura bit on her lip, "I don't know. I want something different."

Nika nodded knowingly, arms crossed and foot on the bottom of the red Target cart. "I know what you mean. Target has nice clothes and all, but they're pretty generic, right?"

Sakura's eyes lit up in understanding. Nika was great when it came to advice for clothes or boy troubles, and Sakura loved her as if she were her real mother. And technically, she was. She was always there for Sakura, and was quick to accept her as if she were her blood daughter.

Nika smiled softly, her strange eyes softening a bit in sympathy. "You want a new wardrobe for your new start. We all do." She squeezed Sakura's shoulder comfortably, "Why don't the two of us walk around and we'll see if we can find anything for you. If not, we'll go to Sunset Mall next Saturday or something. Okay?"

"Yeah, I'd like that."

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—Saturday 3:18 PM—Akatsuki Arcade—Ocean Avenue**_

The electronic pings and bells of the counsels around him were beginning to hurt his ears. The loud music from the Dance Dance Revolution game a few feet away was also beginning to annoy him. The electric blue and neon purple lights suddenly seemed too bright in the otherwise dark room and the laughter of the black haired maverick named Tobi was beginning to piss him off.

"Tobi," Pein called over the loud pounding sounds. The teen was playing at an arcade game, _"Tekken 5"_ was written in black letters against the red Japanese kanji. Pein walked over with a frustrated face, "Can you stop laughing for a second? You're killing my head."

Tobi's laugh softened a bit, "Sorry Boss. I'm just excited!"

Excited was an understatement. Tobi was giddy with excitement, completely and utterly ecstatic. Tomorrow was his birthday, his 18th birthday actually, meaning he and the guys would be having a big celebration. In preparation for the day to come, he re-did his hair, adding some dark orange highlights that only Tobi seemed to pull off—a trait Tobi was famous for.

The door opened, momentarily flooding the room with light. The two turned their heads and spotted Hidan and Kakuzu coming into the door with annoyed expressions. The cousins sauntered over and greeted them with casual pound-hug whilst muttering a small "happy birthday Tobi".

Hidan dropped his skates onto the floor carelessly. "Where's your cousins," He asked Tobi as he leaned against a console. Tobi pulled a coin from his pocket and put it into the _Tekken 5_ console then gripped the joystick tightly between his black oil-stained fingers.

"At home," Tobi said, eyes narrowing in concentration. His black glasses were balancing at the top of his head now as it was too dark to see with them on. His fingers danced over the buttons quickly but methodically and his posture was relaxed. "Izuna said Shisui and Obito might be coming."

Kakuzu pushed a coin into the _Galaga _console opposite of Tobi and began playing, one headphone in his ear blaring Lincoln Park. "Did he say when?"

"Nope," Tobi replied offhandedly. "But you know how Itachi is; he's always in a rush when it comes to parties. Is Deidara coming?"

Pein picked up his soda from the Pacman console beside him and took a sip of the iced Dr. Pepper inside. The cool liquid was relief to his sweating body and was quick to quench his seemingly voracious thirst. Despite the cold nights and quickly approaching school days, the daytime heat seemed to become a more uncomfortable one-hundred and five degree heat, two degrees hotter than the day before. "I don't know if he's in trouble from Friday or not but I'll call and see." He pulled his iPhone from his pocket and quickly dialed the number for the long haired blond whilst stepping outside.

Meanwhile, Tobi and Hidan decided to verse each other in a round of _Tekken_ with a bored Kakuzu watching after failing in his previous game of _Galaga_. "Are the girls coming," Tobi asked while selecting King as his character. Hidan scoffed at the Uchiha's choice and picked Yoshimitsu like he _always_ did.

"Not sure," Kakuzu muttered whilst pulling his dreads and pin-straight black=brown hair into a high ponytail. He looked at Hidan then, with a mocking smirk that made the albino sneer unhappily. "Why don't you call your girlfriend and ask her, Hidan?"

Tobi chortled at the disgusted face Hidan pulled at the mention of his "girlfriend". It was known to everyone in their circle of friends that the timid derby girl known as Ten-Times Baditude had a huge crush on the guy, but he was absolutely disgusted with her. He hated how shy and timorous she was and how depressing she tended to be. The only time he ever really liked her around was when he was watching her beat up other girls on the track.

"She's not my fucking girlfriend," Hidan growled, his anger only fueled when the round ended in Tobi's victory. The second round started, and Hidan quickly slammed his fingers over the red buttons in rapid succession.

Tobi just shrugged, not at all as tense as his friend was. He was a master at this game, and knew almost every combination by heart so instead of insanely button-mashing like Hidan he calmly ghosted his fingers in the correct order, executing artistic and painful moves.

The door opened again, and Pein had an annoyed expression on his face. "What's wrong Boss," The Uchiha maverick asked.

"First of all, Deidara isn't coming today." Tobi whined in response while Hidan just muttered about not caring. "And there's a change of plans for tomorrow. Itachi and Madara got our names on the list at Club X for Glo," He replied. Pein had never hated Itachi and Madara so much. Over on Ayala and Eastmoor, was a club called Club X. It was a warehouse-looking building near the Eastmoor beach on the other side of town that was a 21 and up club on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, a Gay Club called "the Crib" on Thursday, a 21 and up club themed "City Lights" on Friday, and on Sundays it was "Glo" for teens ages 13 to 18. Glo happened only on Sundays that fall on three-day weekends during the normal school year. But during the summer it was open every Sunday.

And Pein hated it.

Tobi was ecstatic about the club and only cheered louder when Hidan's character fell victim to a suplex King had executed.

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—Sunday 8:12 AM—Haruno-Akasuna Residence, Chamomile Ct.—Sasori's Bedroom**_

If there was anything Sasori hated more than having to wait for some idiot-friend of his to meet up with him at the park or waiting for the school bell to ring, it was waking up early. He had forgot to delete the alarm he set Friday night to wake up early before the shopping trip yesterday, and it had awakened him with an annoying ringing noise.

He quickly swiped the pad of his middle finger over the buttons on his phone to shut off the irritating bells and sat up with a frustrated groan. He brought his arms up over his head in a back-popping stretch that nearly had him seeing spots then stumbled out of bed.

His room was simple. Well, it was in his eyes. The walls were all a dark reddish-maroon color with five stacks of cube-shaped cubbies falling in gradual layers against one wall, a few black floating shelves above his bed, his black futon sat in the left-center of his room, a computer desk at the back wall, a guitar on a guitar stand in the corner, a black beanbag chair near that, his flat screen and several posters, pictures and specially-painted skateboards hung on the wall around his TV.

Sasori quickly searched his closet for some casual clothes and hurried to the bathroom, praying his sister wasn't up. She always took forever in the bathroom, even when all she was doing was brushing her teeth, and he didn't want to have to wait.

When he arrived, it sounded empty. But when he turned the knob, he discovered it lock. Groaning, he sighed.

He hadn't beaten Sakura to the bathroom, just like always.

He pounded his unused fist against the white door, his eyes squinting in exhaustion. "Sakura, hurry up! You know how much I hate waiting for you!"

Surprisingly, the door opened to reveal Sakura, already dressed in a pair of basketball shorts and a black tanktop, and her pink hair damp. "I already showered," She muttered, her grip on the door handle tightening. "But…I need a favor."

"Will it get you out of the bathroom so I can use it?"

"Yeah."

"Then shoot."

She fidgeted a bit; her fingers tapped against the chrome doorknob, palms clammy. She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks with her bashful personality taking over, making her heart beat faster. Her breath became more ragged and she looked around everywhere but him. That's how she always was when she asked for help, or when a teacher called on her to answer something.

It was an annoying feeling, timorous.

She didn't like sticking out or being the center of attention. Her pink hair already turned heads and she didn't need more attention focused on her. But she needed Sasori to do this. She shouldn't be scared of asking her own brother for help! She _needed_ to quit being so spineless and worried.

_**You've said that how many times now, Sakura? You've repeated yourself thousands of times in the past week alone. When are you going to give up?**_

_I can do it. I know I can._

_**You'll always be spineless, Sakura. You'll never stop being that crybaby who makes promises to change but never does it. Just admit it, you're nothing like Fubuki, Sasori or Tayuya, and you never will be.**_

_**You're just boring old Sakura Haruno.**_

_**Just give up.**_

Mustering up all her courage, she asked, "Can you cut my hair for me?"

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Author's Note:**_

_**Alrighty, so that was chapter six. Basically we see a bit more of Sakura's insecurity, the personalities, pasts and ticks of the 'Akatsuki guys', and Sasori's little quirks.**_

_**As for the thoughts in bold letters, you can kind of say its Inner Sakura, but it's not specifically labeled as that. Earlier, I mentioned Tayuya teasing Sakura about being unable to unlock her "Inner Bitch". Those bolded thoughts are basically Sakura's negative side/Inner Bitch/Inner Sakura feeding her insecurities. Do you understand what I mean? Like, they're all the things Sakura hates about herself, and she's using it to fuel her desire to move forward.**_

_**But anyway, please, please,**_ please _**review!**_

_**Greatly appreciated, thank you!**_


	7. Because I Am A Girl

**Pinky Bruiser**

**Summary:** _She was a nobody, a push over. She just wanted to fit in. When her cousins bring her to a roller derby game, she runs into a skater, causing a fight between two rival squads. If that wasn't' bad enough, the boys of the hockey team embarrassed her in front of everyone because of it. And now, Sakura has a decision that could change her life. "Goodbye Sakura Haruno, hello Pinky Bruiser!"_

**Amaya's Author's Note: **_**Well, we're at chapter seven now. I feel very self-accomplished. Unfortunately, Aiko-kun is returning to Tokyo so he won't be with me anymore until our 18**__**th**__** birthday this October. But it's not just Aiko and I's birthday. We have a third, a triplet sister named Suzume, but she goes by the name Kyandi. We've mentioned her once or twice, but not really. She lives in Florida with our mom and step dad. Also, Aiko says he's on Facebook under the name Aiko Miyaki (just like how I'm Amaya Miyaki, our older brother is Ren Miyaki) so if you wanna add him too, go ahead. There, you'll see baby pictures, Aiko's daily "Pic of the Day", "Hangout for the Day" and random pictures of him back in Tokyo.**_

_**But anyway, the poems that are used in the poem are owned and written by me. The names will be at the bottom of the chapter. So please, tell me how my writing is in both the chapter and the poems!**_

_**As for all mistakes made in the last six chapters, I've been typing and updating on mobile since I don't have Internet. I plan on going back and editing all those tiny (and big) mistakes, fix the format so you can see my line breaks and so on when I get the chance. So please, be patient with me. I've been updating 1-3 times a week for you guys!**_

_**IMPORTANT**_: Okay, so you if you've read my other stories, you'd know that I use a lot of repetition when it comes to emotions. Yes, Sakura is annoying right now because she says she's going to change, then chickens out and complains about being different. Well, as I've said in my stories, this is **part** of the story. I'm making her that way. Well, for now at least. Remember, at the beginning of the anime she's pretty annoying but very determined. You'll see why I do this as the story progresses.

_**Thank you!**_

**UPDATED/EDITED: May 17, 2013**

**Chapter Seven: Because I Am A Girl**

_**Sakura's POV **_

"_To be awake, to be asleep—_  
_is there really a difference between them?_  
_When you sleep, you dream._  
_When you're awake, you wish._  
_Isn't a dream a "wish your heart makes"?_  
_…then why do we have nightmares?"_

Have you ever felt like sleep was impossible? Your body was so tired, and your eyes were hurting, begging you to close them. And when you did, every ounce of sleep left you? So when you opened your eyes, they'd beg for closure again and the cycle continues.

It sort of reminds me of a poem I read once.

"_Insomnia creeps and razorblades come._  
_I do everything but it's no use._  
_The sleepless moon is my only company tonight_  
_and she lulls me towards the sharp metal knife—a heavenly decadent sleep._  
_My eyes beg for sleep_  
_and my body feels heavy._  
_But my mind refuses to slow._  
_I close my eyes, only for painful daggers of remnant memories_  
_to jolt me awake._

_The red dawn soon paints the black sky—_  
_another day has past_  
_another morning_  
_another night._  
_Just a space to_  
_fill the void…_

_To sleep is to go kindly into the soft goodnight._  
_To lay awake is to fight against nature._  
_But to sleep is to awaken._

_Its three a.m. and I hate your smile.  
So please, smile."_

Dark, I know. But it's a beautiful poem, isn't it? The metaphors, the allusions, the personification—they make the poem beautiful.

But there is nothing beautiful about my lack of sleep. It's already seven o' clock, and I've woken up twice throughout the night. I can't go back to sleep because I keep reliving painful memories, painful thoughts.

I was thinking of Ren, my beautiful older brother, the last blood sibling I had. He was gone.

I was thinking of my first love, the one who beat me until I was in the hospital.

I was thinking of my first, _true_ love, the one which left me for the epitome of sin—a real-life siren.

Why is it that I always find myself in horribly cliché situations? Books always make the underdog character suffer abuse, loss, depravation, betrayal and heartbreak. The underdog is always picked on, hurt, different…why was I falling into that stereotype?

Why was I trying so hard to fit into a mold of someone, trying to become one with a clique?

_**Because that's all you have. You want to fit in.**_

It's because I am a girl.

All of us girls are indecisive; we don't know what we want until we have it. And even then, we're not happy.

All you've heard from me so far is me complaining about how I want to be just like my brother and cousins, about how I feel so pathetic and how I want to change.

_I'm sorry_.

I say that a lot, too. Frankly, I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want to be the small fry who succeeds in conforming to the writer's whim, the character who makes sacrifices just to make other's happy.

_Don't I deserve happiness?_

I'm not Cinderella, living with an evil stepmother and step sisters. I'm not Rapunzel, hiding in a lonely tower. I'm not Snow White or Aurora sleeping in a glass coffin. I'm not fragile, I don't need someone to save me or fix me. I can—no, I _**need**_ to fix myself.

I _don't_ want to find my Prince Charming or come out on top as the overly cliché Mary Sue who magically overcomes her differences and adjusts to sacrifices in chapter twelve. I don't want to fall in love with the perfect guy in chapter two or be the girl with ten guys in an insane love triangle. I don't want to end up the girl in the second book. I don't want to be just a statistic, another over-used character or stereotypical protagonist.

_I want to be myself, Sakura Haruno._

And I will find who I truly am, because I _know_ that no matter how much I flip back and forth, and how indecisive I am about who I want to be and how pathetic I am, I am just an imperfect teenager living in an imperfect world.

There's no such thing as perfect. You know how I know?

_Sasori can't pass his driving exam._

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—Sunday 7:20 AM—Haruno-Akasuna Residence, Chamomile Ct.—Sakura's Bedroom**_

After the second time she woke up, Sakura gave up any hope of sleep. She had so many thoughts swimming around in her head that she was basically on autopilot.

Get out of bed.

Stretch your arms.

Open your closet.

Grab some clothes.

Go to the bathroom.

She heard her step-mother in the kitchen, probably preparing breakfast for her and Sasori before leaving for work, and she could hear nothing but silence when she passed Sasori's room meaning he was still asleep.

"Sakura is that you," Nika asked from downstairs. "Can you come in here please?"

The pinkette hurried down the stairs and into the kitchen. Nika had just finished preparing breakfast that Sakura or Sasori would finish cooking when they woke up. She was a journalist for a local newspaper so she left early, and Mebuki had started working at a car producing company in Silicon Valley called Tesla meaning they couldn't always cook for them. So every morning she left out the non-spoilable ingredients like oil in a measuring cup, sugar, a clean pot or pan on the stove and other things like that.

"Good morning," Sakura greeted with a tired smile.

Nika gave a soft smile and kissed Sakura's head lovingly. "Hey baby did I bother you from taking a shower," She asked, stroking her hair in a motherly way.

Sakura blushed slightly at the affection but she shook her head. "Oh no, I just woke up. I was _about_ to take a shower though."

"Oh, ok," Nika cupped Sakura's cheek, her eyes glazing over in undeniable nostalgia. "How are you feeling, Princess?"

Sakura leaned against the white-tiled counter, her clothes folded over her crossed arms. Nika and Mebuki called Sakura a lot of different terms of endearment, most of which she didn't really mind such as: Princess, Little Lady, Missy, and Baby. She was mostly a Daddy's Girl, of course, but Nika had adopted the name-calling not too long after meeting the pinkette. Sasori also adopted some names for her like Squirt, Scout and Sak. But he, himself, _hated_ being on the opposite side of name-calling.

Then again, Nika called him Sori-pyon, "pyon" being a Japanese term of endearment for little kids. After a while, Sakura learned some basic Japanese, nowhere nearly as much as Sasori's language skills, but enough to get by if need be. But anyway, Sasori hated it when his family called him that over anything else, even Honey or Baby or even Sweetie.

"I'm feeling better," Sakura replied with a large, contagious yawn that made Nika reciprocate the action. "It's not as big a deal as I made it seem. But you know, at the moment it was really over dramatic…"

"That's good. I'm going to be home around seven-ish. If you're going out, leave a note just in case your father or I come home early, okay?"

"Okay."

Nika looked at the clock on the wall above the entrance of the kitchen, her teeth biting down onto the pink flesh of her bottom lip. "I have to go now. So if you need me, call me. I love you." She kissed Sakura's head again.

"Love you too, Mom."

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Are you sure?"

A nod, "I'm sure."

A shrug, "Okay, if you say so."

A black comb ran through her damp pink hair, pausing slightly at a knot before continuing through, parting her hair like a rock parts a river. Sasori pressed a palm against her forehead and ran the comb through again and again until it lay straightened over her shoulders, wetting her red tank top. He set the black comb onto the yellow marble counter and quickly dug through the first drawer filled with his hair supplies.

Unlike Sakura who freely admitted her obsession, the redhead _secretly_ took pride in his hair and constantly kept it shiny, clean and easy to manage. Almost the entirety of his drawer consisted of different kinds of hair products like different scissors, brushes, combs, rubber bands and razors. He also had several different color jars of something called _Gatsby_.

He pulled out two pairs of scissors—one with regular blades and one with layered blades—and set the layered one on the counter. "Are you sure there isn't any hairstyle you want?" He asked again, pulling the comb through her hair until he nearly reached the ends. He brought the foreboding scissors to her hair at a sharp angle and snipped at the thin hairs between his fingers.

"Sasori I already told you," Sakura sighed in annoyance, "I'm sure. Just fix up my layers. I don't want anything crazy."

_**I knew you'd chicken out. You always do.**_

A darkened lock of hair less than an inch long tickled her flustered skin as it separated from her hair.

_But I'm getting it cut._

More and more slips of hair dropped to the ground into a puddle of pink; tiny slivers of her past slowly being brushed off her shoulder with Sasori's pale hand.

_**Are you? Or are you just barely skimming it? Admit it: you're never going to commit to changing. No one really changes—we just reveal our **_true_** selves.**_

"How's that?"

It was almost exactly the same, just shorter.

Sakura put up a smile while he brushed out her hair, a perfectly plastic smile that made her cheeks hurt from its intensity. "It's perfect. Thanks Sasori."

He nodded, brushing away her obviously fake smile and pat her head of freshly cut hair. "You're welcome. Now as much as I love you, can you get out so I can shower?"

Sakura quickly picked up her old clothes. "Of course…hey I'm going out okay?"

"Where—you don't have any friends."

She frowned at the remark, "Terramonte; I'll be back later."

"Again? We were just there yesterday, and you and Mom went three times before that."

"I have my reasons!"

"Whatever. I'm going out too. I have a job interview so I'll be home a little late."

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—Sunday 12 NOON—Somewhere**_

Sweaty, breathless, pained…his chest hurt. His head hurt. His wrist hurt.

_He_ was hurt.

He lay on the ground, fading vision dancing with black spots and sounds around him bleeding into strange echoes. A painfully annoying hum whistled in his ear and blood dripped from his nose onto his cheek. He looked up at the sky with bright amber eyes, not yet comprehending just who was standing above him and what he was saying.

"—zu…Zetsu!"

His eyes snapped towards the left to the dark haired teen above him. _Madara, his name is Madara_ he told himself, blinking away the grogginess. Everyone was quiet; surrounding his body as he slowly sat himself up onto his elbows.

"Holy shit dude, are you okay," Madara asked, putting a hand out for Zetsu to take. He gave a laugh, "That was some hit! You were out cold." Zetsu slowly reached up and took Madara's arm into his hand and stood up carefully, falling back a bit because of his skates. "You sure you're ok?"

The teen nodded and brushed his green bangs away from his eyes, then adjusted the dark green helmet atop his head. "I'm cool. I'll just sit out." He leaned down and picked up his abandoned hockey stick, ignoring the way his back burned and lungs pinched.

A curse slipped out of his chapped lips when his vision momentarily went black when he moved too quickly, then quickly skated towards the sidewalk, a makeshift bench. There were people all around him, on the sidewalk, on the grass, in the back of trucks—all teens cheering his team on and others booing him. Once, it would've made him flinch and run home, but now things were different.

"Yo Zetsu that was awesome," He heard Izuna say from the cool grass behind him.

Deidara clamped a hand over his shoulder, bruised lips upturned in a grin and sweat beading his brow. "Yeah man. I've never seen anyone take a hit that hard and walk away from it, yeah! You're like a freaking legend now."

Zetsu gave a tired smirk and unfastened his helmet, eyes roaming over the large Latino kid who delivered the beautifully hideous hit. He wildly shook his damp green and black hair, "I know."

Now, he could care less about their laughter.

He threw his helmet onto the ground in front of him.

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—Sunday 1 PM—Obito's Apartment, Blackberry Way**_

Obito looked through the magazine boredly; his dark eyes dull with fatigue. It was hot, his body sweating so his white A-Shirt stuck to him like a second skin. Groaning, he threw the magazine at the coffee table and jumped up.

He hurried to the kitchen and opened the black fridge. He just stood there letting the cold air hit his flustered skin. It instantly chilled him and forged goose bumps all about his exposed arms and neck. He closed his eyes, his perfect lashes falling over his blushing cheeks, and tilted his head back with one hand rubbing his moist neck.

"Damn it," He muttered when he heard his sunglasses fall from atop its original perch on his head of messily spiked hair. He bent over to pick them up when he heard the door open. He twisted his body and craned his neck to see who it was, and when he saw the girl at the door, his eyes softened. "Hey Rin."

She smiled a pretty smile and coyly ran a hand through her short reddish-brown curls. The color faded into a dark black near the tips and it curled in casual waves that just brushed her collarbone. Her cheeks were pale and smooth, a tiny trace of pink over the bridge of her nose. Her bangs were cut straight across her forehead and dangled just above her large doe-brown eyes. Her black shirt was tucked under her high-waist skirt. And the skirt barely brushed her fingertips and revealed her long, toned legs connected to a pair of black wedges. "Hey Obito…"

He walked towards her, picking at the split ends from a lock of his hair. "Kakashi just went to sleep, but I can tell him you stopped by."

She smiled mischievously and leaned casually against the wall, eyes meeting his heatedly. "Ok, thanks."

Obito continued to approach her slowly, pausing in front of her. Then carefully, he wound his hands around her waist with his palms resting on her rear. One of Rin's hands moved to the nape of his neck and pulled him down close enough for him to smell the vanilla perfume she wore. The other gently traced the pale scars around the right side of his face, the remnants of a drunk-driving accident a few years ago that nearly killed him.

Their eyes searched each other's carefully before lowering. Their lips joined in a passionate dance; Obito pushed her against the wall, his sunglasses falling to the ground, forgotten. His hands traveled down her sides and he bent lower to hook his hands under her knees and pressed his body against hers.

A mewl escaped her lips and she curved into him hungrily. Obito released her pink lips and quickly attacked her neck in kisses and nibbles that made her emerald nails dig into his shoulders. His right hand moved up her thighs and into her skirt. His eyes misted over at the naked surprise beneath the flimsy fabric and he hungrily began rubbing the pads of his fingers against her.

A moan escaped Rin's lips and she excitedly pulled him into the living room. Rin smiled and pushed him onto the couch, eyes impishly meeting his as she climbed onto him, much like a cat would stalk her pray. His eyes lit up at the sight and he let out a small laugh.

"Oh my God," He chuckled, hands winding over her bent form so they could rest comfortably on her rear again. She pressed her cherry-flavored lips against his for less than a second before pulling away, smiling when Obito attempted to deepen the broken kiss. He smiled against her lips, an action that introduced butterflies into her stomach just like the last time she did this.

Rin leaned forward again and teasingly bit his lip. Her hands quickly went to the waistband of his jean shorts and began tugging at the zipper.

When he felt her fingers wrapping around his member, he shifted under her, his fingers pressing against her hips tightly. "R-Rin," He moaned softly. A shiver slithered up his spine and he let out a sigh. She brought her lips to his again and engaged his tongue in a fierce dance of dominance whilst climbing on top of him.

When he felt her wet folds against his hard member, he pulled away instantly, eyes downcast. "Rin, we can't…"

"Why not," She asked with a lustful whine in her voice. "We'll be quiet. Nobody will know."

She lowered herself onto him again but he firmly set his hands beneath her rear, his lust fading and regret instantly setting in. "Stop," He said in an equally firm voice. "I'm done Rin. I can't do this!"

"But Obito I—"

"No, just listen to me," He interrupted, sitting up and fixing the zipper of his pants. "I can't do this. I can't. I'm tired of the midnight meet-ups and the double dates."

Rin adjusted her clothing quietly, not daring to meet his stern eyes. He was usually so much more casual and daring, just like Tobi. Now he looked _exactly_ like the rest of his family, like his cousins Itachi, Madara, Sasuke and Izuna, like his uncle Fugaku. Not like his nearly identical younger cousin Tobi.

"You never want to have sex with me," Rin whispered, her heart dropping into her stomach and her eyes burning with fresh tears. "After everything we've been through…fifteen years…"

All emotion fell from Obito's face and he left to the kitchen. He picked up his glasses and leaned against the wall, fiddling with them nervously. He was sweating even more now, and he felt very uncomfortable with the bulge pressing tightly against his zipper.

_Why,_ he asked himself,_ why did she have to do that?_

His dark brown eyes fell to the glasses in his hands. He stared at the dull reflection of his scarred yet handsome face. He was repulsed by the image staring back at him and he nearly broke his glasses from squeezing them so tightly.

_I can't…I can't anymore._

"I wasn't raised to sneak around like this. My dad…if he were here, he'd be disappointed. I'm sorry Rin, but you did this to yourself. I can't do this to Kakashi. He's my best friend. I'm done. Please…just get out."

"But Obito—"

"Damn it Rin get out!"

She stood there for a moment, fingers digging into her palms hard enough to leave crescent-shaped indents in her flesh. Then, she turned away and slammed the door behind her, the walls shaking at the impact and Obito wincing in response. He put his black sunglasses back on and returned to his fridge.

He opened the fridge and bent down so the cool air slapped him in the face.

"Hey, who was at the door?"

Obito turned around and gave a sheepish grin, hiding his regret well. "It was Rin. I told her you were asleep and you know how she plays too much. She just got a little bitchy."

His roommate yawned and wildly ran his hands through his silver hair. It was messy and spiked towards the left in a way similar to Zetsu's. His tired eyes bore small gray bags beneath them, and a scar ran over his left eye. Another scar because of his drunken mistake...

"Yeah, I know how you feel, man. Is there any Pepsi?"

"No."

"Damn," He sighed, "I'll be back then. I'm gonna buy some soda at 7/11." Kakashi plucked his keys from the counter, "Want anything? Candy, nachos, condoms…?"

"No, it's ok," Obito replied with a laugh, "I'll save the fun for the party tonight. You're coming to Tobi's after party right? After work?" Kakashi gave a casual shrug of his shoulders and opened the door.

"Here at eleven-thirty right?" Obito nodded. "Alright I'll pick up the beer. I'll be back." And with that, Kakashi shut the door behind him. Obito sighed and looked down, slamming the fridge shut. He sat down at the table and pushed his glasses away so he could properly dig his face into his hands.

The tears fell down his cheeks like raindrops on a window.

"…I'm so sorry Kakashi…for everything."

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—Sunday 2 PM—Terramonte Mall**_

She stared at the store across from the rest area she was sitting at. Her left hand tapped against the wooden armrest and her right curled her short locks around her finger. Nervously, she bit into her cheek and looked at the people around her.

An old Filipino lady sat at a chair beside the plants. A middle-aged father sat on a bench with pink and yellow _Forever XXI_ bags around him and two children chasing each other. A **stereotypical **teenaged couple sat on another bench texting on their iPhones. In the background, Shania Twain's _You're Still the One_ played from small stereos placed all over the mall. The McDonalds behind her was packed with loud kids and **gossiping** teens, and the delicious aroma of salty French fries seemed to waft towards her, surrounding her in a blanket of **familiarity**.

Everything was **normal**.

Sakura's nails dug into the armrests.

_**Are you ready to finally man up?**_

She stood up and primped her **normal** re-layered hair. Sasori had only trimmed it by about an inch so it now barely reached her shoulder blades. Her feet strode across the tawny tiles until she was beneath the arches of the store's sign. Instantly, a guy from somewhere in the store called out in a friendly voice "Hello! Welcome to Hot Topic!"

And she smiled at him.

**Normal**_ is overrated._

**Pinky Bruiser**

**Author's Note:**

**Well, that was chapter seven. So the poems used in the story were both written by me, Amaya, and are called "Not So Happily Ever After" and "Insomniac".**

**So, as per usual, review!**


	8. Sidewalks

**Pinky Bruiser**

**Summary:** _She was nobody, a loser. She just wanted to fit in. When her cousins bring her to a roller derby game, she runs into a rival skater, causing a fight between two rival squads. If that wasn't bad, a guy on the hockey team named Deidara embarrassed her in front of everyone! When Tayuya said things will change, she meant it. "It's time for a makeover. Goodbye Sakura, hello Pinky Bruiser."_

**Words to Know**

**Point of No Return:** _how far your ears will stretch before being permanently unable to return to its original shape._

**Septum Piercings:**_ goes through the skin between your nostrils, not the bone or cartilage. Some people call them "bull nose piercings" because they resemble a ring often placed on the snout of a bull._

**Dimple Piercings:** _piercings on the cheeks where the dimples are._

**Angel Bites:**_ a pair of piercings that look like snakebites, but are on the upper lip instead of the lower lip._

**Disclaimer/Important Note: Aiko and Amaya do NOT approve of smoking, but we're not overly offended. We don't smoke **(as Amaya was born with bad lungs and asthma problems)** but we know lots of people who do **(who also don't smoke when around Amaya) **and family who works at Medical Wellness Centers. We researched the topic thoroughly before adding it into the story by asking people who use it for MEDICAL purposes about the different strains, their medical uses and so on. Amaya also did a project about medicinal marijuana and how it works. So that's how we know these things.**

**Piece:/bowl:**_ a glass instrument used to smoke._

**Skywalker:** _a strain of marijuana used to help with pain, headaches, sedation and hunger stimulation. It helps relieve stress, insomnia, anxiety and depression and is often used by Combat-related PTST (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) patients. It's a strong hallucinogen that makes the user feel euphoric, lazy, sleepy and happy._

**Cinderella 99:** _also known as C-99; is used to relieve anxiety, stress, depression, pain and migraines when used in the correct amounts. Many people who suffer chronic depression use it. It makes the user feel very euphoric, uplifted, energetic and happy but causes dry mouth, paranoia, red eyes and dizziness._

**Dispenser:** _also known as the Medical Wellness Center; a place where people who are prescribed medical marijuana go to pick up their prescriptions. They show their medical marijuana card, prescription papers and ID then are given the correct dosage according to the recommendation._

**Author's Note: Oh…my…gosh…I JUST GRADUATED! Woohoo! No more high school! Which means more updates for you! It also means I was able to go back to the previous chapters and edit the mistakes in them!**

**So if you go back to the previous chapters, you will see:**

**-less spelling/grammar mistakes**

**-a cleaned up timeline**

**-more/altered descriptions of characters**

**-less inconsistencies**

**Second Author's Note:** _I'm curious, does anybody want to do some fan-art for this story? I'd like to see some cool pictures, and maybe I'll write a Sakura-centric one-shot or add a scene for the story for whoever wins my contest?_

_If you're interested, the rules are:_

_-It must fit with this story. Meaning, it has to be modern-day, match descriptions of the characters from this story, and/or involve roller derby, hockey or skating or something like that._

_-It must be colored._

_-It can be any medium you want—photography (like of a place you find that reminds you of the story or someone who looks like/resembles a character), color pencil/pen, paint, graffiti, digital media, etc. It just has to be in color. You can make a comic strip if that's what you want to do. You can also make a YouTube video of like, a collection of photos you've taken that remind you of the story, a tribute video to the characters etc._

_-It doesn't have to be DeidaraXSakura specifically. It can be like a snapshot in time (Ex: Deidara dumping chili cheese fries on Sakura, Pein visiting Nagato in the hospital, Sasori with Sakura and their cousins, Sakura meeting Tobi) or it can be of one or so specific characters._

_-The title of the masterpiece/artwork must be named after a song. For example, "Young, Wild and Free", "Fat Lip", "Underclass Hero", etc._

_-You can send as many artworks as you like._

_Just upload it to Deviant Art with a little description of the medium you used, the title, why you chose the song for the title and what's going on in the picture, then send me the link in a Private Message the places of the periods, send it to my Deviant Art (AmayaMiyaki) or post it on your profile labeled "Amaya's Pinky Bruiser Contest Entry" and the above description. The contest closes…whenever. You never know so make sure you send those artworks in! Good luck guys!_

_**UPDATED/EDITED: May 24, 2013**_

**Chapter Eight:**

**Sidewalks**

_**Normal POV—2 PM—Sunday July 21, 2013—Terramonte Mall**_

Sakura looked over the rack in front of her. All the piercings reflected the light like a freshly cleaned mirror. There were some ridiculous ones like Hello Kitty tapers and faux-diamond plugs and glow in the dark navel rings. There even some weird piercings that twisted and twirled and she wondered how they were worn! There were so many shapes and sizes that it overwhelmed her and her previous decision.

"Do you need help with anything?"

She whipped around, surprised at the voice that suddenly reached her ears. In front of her was a guy. He was a bit taller than her and even Sasori, maybe around 5'8" tall, and very slender. His black hair trailed down his neck in choppy layers and had fresh orange highlights in them. His bangs were short and hung over his forehead, but he had long side-bangs. His skin was pale with a soft-peachy undertone, and his ears bore a pair of medium-sized orange to black spirals along with a black ring in his cartilage. From what she could tell, he was very handsome, but with the black sunglasses he wore, she couldn't see his entire face. But his sense in fashion was definitely attractive: black skinny jeans with straps hanging all over it, black combat boots, black shirt that said _Nirvana_ in dark orange and black fingerless gloves.

"Sorry," He said with a goofy grin. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Didn't mean to scare you."

Blushing, Sakura waved her hand in a dismissive motion. "Oh, no you didn't scare me!"

He laughed, "If you say so. Anyway, did you need help with something? Every time you come in, you stare at the racks for about ten minutes before leaving." He pointed at the glass case with a gloved hand. "I can open it up if you need it."

Sakura examined the rack for what seemed like the thousandth time. She circled the two racks of piercings, eyes falling over every single piece of jewelry with uncertainty. Then on the second rack six rows down she spotted a navel ring made of silver surgical steel. The actual stud on the needle bore a small faux-diamond with a curved bar holding a larger one and a tiny chain link held a large white cubic zirconium heart wrapped in thin wire. She pointed to it, and said with a confident tone, "That one."

The guy took the key from the lanyard around his neck and quickly unlocked the glass door to grab the piercing. "Is that all?"

She looked over the cases again. Then she hesitated and pointed to a 4-piece set of set of tiny tapers and plugs labeled "size 16". He took those out as well and locked up the case before hurrying to the cashier. He quickly rung up the items, eyes trained on the register. "You're a beginner," He mused, glancing at her for a moment.

Embarrassed, she nodded, "Yeah…"

"That's cool," He said. "Word of advice: upgrade one size every two to four weeks. If you don't, you'll tear your ears and you'll go beyond the Point of No Return."

Sakura smiled at him. "Thanks. How long did it take you to get those ones?"

The guy fingered the spirals in his ears. They weren't too big so that they looked unattractive to her, and she'd seen bigger, but they still looked just perfect for him. "A few months; they're just size fours. I use to have Zeros, but I stopped wearing them and they shrunk. I'm surprised that I hadn't reached the Point of No Return Yet." He tilted his head a bit, staring at her. "Huh, you don't look like the type to wear a belly ring or a Stretch."

Sakura scratched the back of her head nervously, a pink blush dusting over her pale cheeks innocently. "Um, I don't…"

He laughed at her, "Alright; luckily for you I know a good place. You know the Boardwalk? Go all the way down towards Ayala. There's a shop there called Vortex. A friend of mine works there named Yahiko. Ask for him and tell him Tobi sent you. He'll give you a discount."

A wide smile spread over Sakura's features, "Thanks!"

Tobi grinned at her cutely making her breakout into another bright pink blush. He didn't seem to notice, and if he did, he didn't bother acknowledge it. "No problem! So that'll be $29.50." Sakura quickly pulled the dollar bills and coins from her tiny wallet and handed it to him. "Thank you; do you have a Hot Topic card? I can sign you up for just five dollars extra."

"I think my brother has one."

"I can check," He said while pulling out the sliding board that the keyboard rested on. "I just need the email or phone number."

"727-6740."

"Is that a 566 area code?"

"No, 787," She answered. Tobi quickly typed the numbers into the computer and looked up at her.

"Sasori Akasuna," He asked. When Sakura nodded he pressed 'enter' on the keyboard and ripped the receipt from the machine. "Suna," He asked while re-reading the receipt. He quickly put it into the bag after verifying the receipt's data was correct.

"Yeah," She replied, "We just moved here about a month ago."

He smiled warmly at her, sending butterflies to her stomach, and handed her the black bag. "Your receipt is in the bag." She thanked him and pulled it over her wrist. The two just stood there for a moment of so, neither looking at each other. She wasn't sure if she should just leave yet or say goodbye or something. Tobi didn't seem to know either as he began nervously rubbing the back of his neck. "So uh…I've seen you come in before—with your brother right? The guy with red hair?" She nodded. "And your mom, too." His face turned red and he put a hand up after seeing her weird facial expression. "I mean, you came in a lot and never bought anything. My manager thought you were a shoplifter or something, you know? Plus your hair is pretty noticeable."

Sakura sighed and reflexively brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "So I'm told…"

"Err…I don't mean it in a bad way. I like it. What dye did you use? That's a cool shade."

"It's natural."

Tobi blinked, and Sakura prepared for the inevitable "no it's not" argument, but instead he just grinned at her and said, "That's cool. I know a few people with bizarre natural colors like my friend Zetsu—his hair is naturally bright green." A guy stood in line behind her, and she took it as a sign to leave. When he saw that she was leaving, Tobi called out, "Wait! Um, what's your name?"

Shyly, she told him her first name, and he gave her another charming smile. "I'm Tobi. Welcome to Konoha!"

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—3:24 PM—Sunday July 21, 2013—Vortex—the Boardwalk**_

Sakura stared warily at the shop in front of her. It was painted dark lime green with purple, black and white graffiti saying "Vortex" above the door. It was a small place with a large window bearing the shop's name in normal black letters and a small sign in the corner saying:

APP CERTIFIED  
Tattoos and Piercings

_**Aren't you gonna go in?**_

_I will._

_**Are you really? Or are you gonna chicken out again?**_

_I'll do it._ Sakura took a step forward, pausing for just a moment before continuing towards the shop across the street in a light jog. When she reached the glass door, she pushed it opened and looked around while the door above it jingled. The room was warm with the summer heat, and lit by bright florescent lights. The walls were black with graffiti designs in purple, yellow and green and pictures on the wall. There was a small sitting area by the window—one leather sofa, a corner-table piled with magazines and a few chairs. A man was sitting there reading a magazine while two people were being worked on by the artists.

A girl suddenly appeared behind the register; she was pale with black and dark purple hair pulled into a messy bun, dimple and septum piercings, and perfectly lined gray eyes. She was extremely skinny and beautiful, and looked like a modern version of a 50's pinup girl with the faded red bandana in her hair, the dark red lipstick and the anchor tattoo on her arm. Sakura couldn't help but feel envious. "Hello! Welcome to Vortex. Can I help you with anything?"

Sakura smiled weakly and rubbed her hands together nervously. "Hi, um, I'm looking for Yahiko…? Is he in…?"

The girl turned around and pointed at one of the tattoo artists working on a girl's lower-back tattoo. "He's in the middle of a session right now but I think he's almost done. You can wait for him or I can tell him you stopped by."

"Oh, I'll just wait for him. Thank you…" The girl nodded with a smile and Sakura quickly sat on the couch, ignoring the way her exposed arms stuck to the material.

The buzzing of the tattoo guns were loud and foreboding, reminding her of the pain they promised. And the tiny pivoting fan did little to dispel the heat that had begun bothering her. And vaguely, she began to wonder just what she was doing here.

_**What are you hoping to accomplish by being here?**_

_I don't know._

_**What do you mean 'I don't know'? What—do you think you'll change at all by getting a belly ring or something? You don't change overnight you know.**_

_I know…_

She decided then to just ignore the annoying, discomforting voice within her head and instead focused on the songs that played from the boom-box on the shelf. The first was some alternative band she'd never heard of, and the song seemed less than mediocre and generic. When the song was over, a commercial break interrupted the musical jam. Despite being a few minutes long, it seemed to be hours before the music started again. _Why_, she wondered, _it feels like time is going by so freaking slowly…_ It was probably just the nerves bothering her. After another half hour or so of songs she's never heard of, a familiar song came up and she visibly relaxed.

It was a familiar tune; a soft melody she'd heard playing from Sasori's room before. A gentle syncopated tune, then the soft strumming of strings hummed through the speakers. It soothed her in a way. She easily recognized the song as _Anthem of our Dying Day_ by _Story of the Year_. It was a good song, and she thanked Sasori for introducing her to it. After playing the same playlist of one hundred-eleven songs, Sakura grew crazy about not knowing the name of the song so she looked up the song from the lyrics she had and added it to her own playlist.

She shut her eyes to relax and leaned against the back of the couch. The drums pounded suddenly, the symbols crashed and the once soft voice of the singer grew louder and more emotional as he moved on towards the chorus.

It was beautiful, touching even. In her head, she imagined the music video—the crows flocking the yellow-orange skies overhead, the similar-looking city, the people running through the warehouse…when the song ended, she opened her eyes.

"You like that song, huh?"

In an attempt to avoid being teased twice about being frightened, she tilted her head to the side coolly. A guy was sitting beside her with an arm over the back of the couch and legs outstretched lazily in front of him. He didn't look at her so she only saw him from the side. His hair was a brilliant shade of orange with black streaks near the nape of his neck and was teased haphazardly. His eyes were a dazzling bright blue that were rimmed in black eyeliner which greatly contrasted against his pale pink complexion. And his lip bore a single black, circular barbell in the right corner. She could see the traces of a tattoo beneath the collar of his black button down shirt, but from what she could tell it wasn't a very big one. All in all, he appeared mellow and casual.

Sakura tore her gaze away with a tiny blush dusting over her cheeks when she realized she hadn't answered him. "Yeah, it's a good song."

The guy nodded in agreement while turning his head to look at her. He flashed a charming smile and revealed perfectly straight white teeth.

"I'm Yahiko. I was told you're looking for me," He said while leaning back into the chair. "What can I do for you?"

Sakura pulled the navel ring she purchased from her Hot Topic bag and showed it to him. "Tobi said you're good at piercing."

Yahiko nodded, "That I am. I'm APP Certified." He said it proudly, as if he were bragging about being a Harvard graduate or a brain surgeon. He then took the piercing from her and looked it over.

"I want to do my ears too. But I'm not sure what, exactly."

He nodded approvingly, "I can do it for you. But before we do that I gotta ask a few questions. If we knew you wanted work done, I would've had you fill out a consent form."

"Oh…"

Yahiko dismissed it with the wave of his hand and showed her the clipboard that was on the other side of him, "It's ok; we'll just fill it out now." He quickly read over some of the scripts and checked a few boxes with his pen. "First of all, are you allergic to any metals?"

She shook her head, "No, not that I know of. I wear earrings, belts, and necklaces all the time."

He quickly checked off a box. "Alright; what about any medical problems like a weak immune system, diabetes, or take medication that thins your blood or steroids?"

"No."

"Are you allergic to latex?"

"No."

"Okay now I'm going to walk you through our autoclave system while you fill out the rest of these questions. They're just asking about your medical history, phone number, address and stuff like that. If you have any questions, stop me and ask, alright?" When she nodded, Yahiko handed her the pen and clipboard, and continued, "So an autoclave is a machine we use to sterilize the non-disposable piercings tools. It works by allowing steam to enter the chamber the needles are and maintains pressure for at least 15 or so minutes to kill bacteria, spores and other infection-inducing cells. Here, we use both piercings guns that have a disposable cassette and single-use guns for ear piercings and we constantly sterilize each needle. For other places like the navel we use a hollow needle.

"After you fill out the form, I'll take you into the piercing room which is sterilized after every single use and is made specifically to pierce the body to prevent infections, and expect your navel to see if it's alright to work on. If it is I'll wash my hands, put on gloves and other sterile, protective gear, re-sterilize the needles and grab a new stud piercing out of my case. Since you brought your own piercing, I'd have to sterilize it but it'll cost you fifty dollars. If I just use one of the ones here, I'll charge you ten for the labor and fifteen for the piercing since you're a friend of Tobi's. What do you want to do?"

Sakura bit her lip, "Um…I guess we just use one from here…"

He nodded. "Okay, mark that right here." He pointed to a box on the paper and watched as she quickly put an 'X' through the box. "Now, I'll re-sterilize the stud for about twenty or so minutes while I clean the area around your navel, mark it with a single-use, disposable surgical pen and put a clamp over the area the needle will go. Then I'll take a needle, put it through, put in the stud and clean it up. Sound okay? It only hurts for a second—almost like a pinch."

She thought about it for a moment. It sounded legit, and the guy seemed professional.

_**His **_is_** APP Certified**_**.**

_Sarcasm is not needed._

_**No sarcasm intended.**_

"Well," She sighed, slapping her thighs as if trying to slap away the doubt that stabbed at the back of her brain, "If I don't do it now I'll never do it. Let's get it done."

Yahiko grinned at her and put a hand on her shoulder assumingly while the other took the dark brown clipboard from her hands. "Alright," He chuckled, "Let's go then…" He paused to look over the clipboard then smiled again, "Sakura."

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV— 5 PM—Sunday July 21, 2013—Sarutobi Hospital**_

He really hated hospitals. He didn't like the annoying sterilized smell or the bright luminescent lights that blinded him every time he walked in, or the overly snooty nurses that bossed him around. Waiting rooms were just as bad. You never knew what kind of people you'd run into.

Crying babies, annoying toddlers, sneezing old people—everything was just so damn annoying.

But he couldn't leave now. No, not with his brother in the hospital room all by himself.

"Pein, are you alright?"

He looked over to his left where his best friend Madara was standing beside his brother, Izuna who was holding some flowers. Konan was squeezing his hand tightly in comfort and held her own get-well gift of flowers. Itachi and Kakuzu were also there but they were looking for parking in the parking lot. Everyone would be here soon, just like they always did.

"I'm fine."

The elevator doors made a loud _ding_ and slid open with a soft hiss. Pein and Konan stepped back as a man in a doctor's coat walked out, then they all climbed in. He pressed the circular button for the tenth floor then leaned against the rails with Konan in his arms in front of him. His heart drummed heavily in his chest and he felt incredibly heavy and sluggish. He could feel his palms trembling just like his knees and hoped Konan didn't notice.

The doors slid open and they filed out, pausing to hold the elevator for a nurse that scrambled to get inside with a cart of food. They waved to the nurses at the desk directly in front of the elevator doors then moved past them to a room a few doors down the hall on the right side.

The dark green plaque on the wall beside the door read _Room 1027._

The door was opened and a patient was lying on the bed quietly with the television on. Pein's knuckles softly rapped against the wooden door making the boy turn his head and smile. Pein gave a soft smile as well and entered the room with the group.

The boy on the bed was somewhat emaciated. His skin was pale and taunt against his bones. His dark red hair fell over his flushed face and stuck to his forehead, and dark circles fell beneath his dark blue eyes. He looked tired and frail now.

"Pein," He greeted with a smile. His eyes glistened at the sight of his brother, and Pein leaned over to hug him.

"Hey Nagato," He whispered softly, pulling away.

Nagato hugged the others with tears in his eyes. Everyone was silent and careful in their movements, even when they weren't near his bed. Pein sat on the bed beside his younger brother and held his thin hand in his. Nagato looked so happy now, and he wanted to cry but refused to. "Where's the birthday boy," Nagato asked.

Madara forced a smile, "He should be here soon. He's excited to see you."

"Where are you guys going tonight?"

Konan, who was adjusting the flowers on the bedside table answered then, "We're going to the X for Glo."

Nagato gave a sad smile and looked down at the white sheets on his lower body. Instantly, Madara's heart clenched painfully in his chest and regret washed over him so he turned away to look at the many pictures and flowers on the table. There was a picture of Nagato and Pein in ice hockey gear with a giant shark on them, and a picture of a young Yahiko holding both Nagato and Pein's newborn bodies. And then there was a picture of Konan in her roller derby outfit standing between Pein and Nagato, all three smiling with their arms around each other. Madara had taken that one.

He sat down on the chair beside the window and wiped the tears from his eyes. "I'm so sorry Nagato…"

Nagato gave a smile, but they all knew it was strained. "Madara don't…it's alright. I'm fine."

He wasn't alright. He wasn't _fine_. He was hospitalized _because_ of him. Pein knew Madara constantly blamed himself for Nagato's injuries, and for a while Pein blamed him too. Everyone blamed themselves, but no one more than Madara.

One summer ago Madara, Tobi and Nagato went out to a party with Obito. Pein had been out with Konan and Yahiko was sleeping for exams so they weren't there. They had a great time—they drank, danced, smoked, met some girls and drank some more. Well, Nagato and Tobi didn't drink. They were still nervous about getting caught drinking. Madara was completely wasted and Obito passed out by the time they decided to go home. Neither Tobi nor Nagato knew how to drive a stick shift but they refused to let Madara drive drunk so Nagato volunteered. He spent a good twenty minutes trying to figure out the stick-shift and other controls of Obito's old 1993 Volvo before Madara grew belligerent and pulled Nagato out of the driver's seat and into the back so he could drive.

At 2:25 AM, Yahiko and Pein were woken up by a knock at the door from the local Sheriff's Deputy, reporting a car accident.

They were almost home when they were hit from the left-rear side by another drunk driver from a different party. Tobi and Obito were sitting on the right side and ended up slamming their faces into the windows, creating damage to the right sides of their faces while Madara had seatbelt injuries and a dislocated shoulder. Nagato who sat in the back left seat took the full impact of the crash and ended up damaging his spinal cord which resulted in paralysis in his legs along with other substantial injuries to his chest, neck, head and eyesight. The other car's driver suffered little more than a few stitches and loss of hearing while his passenger, a16 year old girl, died. He was eight times over the legal limit while Madara was four. Because the police didn't test them until hours later, Madara had sobered up enough that he wasn't even ticketed while the driver was sent to prison for manslaughter, driving under the influence and four counts of reckless endangerment.

Pein clenched his fists at the memory of sitting in the waiting room for nine hours with a badly bruises and sobered Madara and Yahiko, waiting for Obito, Tobi and Nagato to come out of surgery.

The room had become somber now. Konan comforted the quietly sobbing Madara; Pein silently held his brother's hand and Nagato just sat there.

A knock instantly pulled Madara out of his teary state and he returned to his indifferent, calm self while Itachi and Kakuzu entered, followed by the rest of their group. A wave of wild hair colors filled Pein's vision as everyone pushed their way into the spacious room. Even his brother Yahiko and Obito were there. "Look who's here," Kakuzu muttered quietly, stepping aside for Tobi to come in. Tobi grinned widely at the redhead and hugged him tightly, forcing back his own tears.

"Happy birthday Tobi," Nagato said with a teary-eyed smile.

"Thanks," Tobi said and pulled away to sit on his bed. He pulled his glasses upwards to reveal a scar nearly identical to Obito's but smaller. The others gave their greetings, and for a little over an hour they talked and laughed with the boy in the bed. They showed him pictures and videos on their phones and shared their stories, forgetting they were in a hospital so the nurses had to keep reminding them to simmer down. It was a great night, one none of them would forget.

And the night wasn't even anywhere near over yet.

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—Sunday 6 PM—Haruno-Akasuna Residence—Chamomile Ct.**_

Sasori sat on his futon casually. His right hand clutched the remote loosely and his eyes were trained on the television in front of him. He put his left hand out and glanced over at the teen sitting on the windowsill passively. "Pass it."

Kimimaro took another drag of his cigarette before standing up and handing it to the redhead. Sasori took the cigarette between his fingers and took a long drag of it then passed it to the blond sitting beside him while Kimimaro returned to sitting at the window. After Sasori's interview at Subway's, he met up with Kimimaro who introduced him to his friends Naruto and Sasuke, where they decided to hang out at his house for a bit.

Naruto and Sasuke couldn't be more opposite. The younger of the two, Naruto was really loud and wild, constantly complaining and joking around. He seemed like a class clown kind of guy but really cool. His choppy hair was a bright yellow color and was teased into messy spikes with his bangs falling over his right blue eye. He had these odd scars on his face that looked like whiskers, too.

Sasuke on the other hand, was more calm and mellow. He had the "cool guy" kind of personality most guys tried to achieve but failed in. But the nineteen year old not only acted the opposite of Naruto, but looked like it too. His hair was black with undertones of dark blue and purple; his side-bangs were long and his bangs fell over his left eye while the back was short and choppy and spiked out. He also had large spirals in his ears, definitely larger than Sasori, while Naruto only had standard sized earrings.

He and Naruto were supposedly best friends but they fought a _lot_. Usually for stupid reasons. If it weren't for the similar clothes they wore, you'd think they were from two different cliques.

Naruto took the cigarette between his lips and inhaled the tobacco inside. He held it in and rested his head against the folded up end of the futon where his back pressed against, then slowly let it out. He coughed a bit before offering it to Sasuke who declined. So he gave it back to Kimimaro. "Hey you got a bowl or something?"

Sasori leaned over and picked up a can of beer they brought over then took a quick sip before nodding. He dragged his arm across his lips to wipe them away, "Yeah but I don't know when Sakura is coming back."

Kimimaro put the cigarette out against the sole of his shoe then flicked it out the window. He sat on the chair at Sasori's computer desk then opened one of the new cans on the table. "Isn't she cool with it?"

"She is," Sasori replied, "But I don't like smoking with her in the house. It feels weird because she doesn't do it."

Naruto snorted from his spot beside Sasori, "Stoner problems—when no one else in your house smokes."

Sasori chuckled lowly, "Right?" He took another sip of his drink and changed the channel to _Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory_. Then he wondered: Would Sakura mind if he smoked in the house? She never did seem to care or freak out when she caught him smoking before. But it was just weird. What if she started smoking? He wasn't sure if he'd like it or not because it was his _little_ sister. Then again…what did he care?

He ran a hand through his hair and stood up. Sasuke watched him go through the top of his closet with mild interest while plucking at the strings of the acoustic guitar in his hands. And when Sasori shut the closet door and revealed a colorful glass piece, he put the guitar down. "I thought you were getting a bong or something…"

Sasori shrugged and sat back down on the bed, "I would but like I said: I don't know when my sister is coming home. I don't wanna start smoking big and then have someone barge in. Plus I don't want to spill the water on my carpet." He looked over at Kimimaro, "Strapped under the desk there's a baggie. Get that."

The white haired teen reached under the keyboard drawer and felt around a bit before pulling out a small bag then he tossed it to the redhead. "What is it?"

"Skywalker," Sasori replied and searched his pockets for a lighter. "Is there a lighter in my drawer?" Kimimaro quickly searched through the drawer until Sasuke fished one out of his pocket and tossed it at him. "Thanks," Sasori muttered and began filling the bowl on the orange, black and yellow piece with the bright green and orange substance. He took a quick breath of the drug before offering it. Naruto was quick to take it.

"Dude," He coughed while handing it to Sasuke, "That hits hard."

Sasori laughed a bit, "Yeah. The Dispenser didn't have any more Cinderella so I got the next best thing. I need to find a good dealer here for times like this."

Sasuke sniffed a bit and shook head as if he had a sudden attack of shivers, "You should talk to Kakashi—he's a student teacher at OHS but he has good shit." They continued passing it around and filling it while Kimimaro pulled out another cigarette.

It was perfect.

There was no one there except them, they had beer and enough weed to keep them busy, and they had an unlimited supply of music and television. Oh yes, it was perfect.

Something in the closet fell and banged loudly against the closet door, and Sasori sighed before moving to fix it. When he opened the door, a pair of black skates spilled out along with some clothes. They weren't just any skates. They were _Sasori's_ skates. He loved them more than anything in the world.

Sasori's roller blades were something to marvel at; they were a work of art, really, and Sasori spent all his time and money on them. And he had good reason to; they were special. Skating was Sasori's life and he called it his "art". The skates very much matched Sasori (with his personality and his constant desire to wear black and red). They were black with a red lining; the buckles and cuff bolts were gray, the Velcro straps had the a graffiti-like design on them in white and gray, the laces were crimson and the frame was a deep gray with red and black graffiti-like designs on them and had an H-block and grind wheels in the center so he could easily rail-slide when need be. He had replaced the wheels the night before, switching the red flat-bottom indoor wheels for the gray rounded outdoor ones so he could easily skate outside without tripping over a crack or bump.

He picked them up by the laces and set them down on the carpet beside his bed. He hasn't been skating in a while so he was thinking of going out tomorrow. Almost as if struck by lightning, Kimimaro made a grunting sound of remembrance and pointed at Sasuke. "Sasuke, this was the guy I told you about—the one who was thinking about joining the hockey team."

Sasuke arched a brow at the redhead and pointed at him unsurely. "You wanna join the hockey team?"

Sasori shut the closet door after kicking everything out of the way then sat back down on the bed. He gave a little shrug and reached for the beer again. "I was thinking about it. Either that or baseball. Why?"

Naruto pointed at the ravenette with a sneer. Then he leaned in towards Sasori as if to whisper something, "His brothers are on Varsity. They don't really get along very well sometimes because emo-boy over there is too moody." Sasuke flipped him off at the comment which resulted in Naruto laughing and saying "see what I mean? He can't take a joke."

Sasuke just crossed his arms and snorted, "What he means is: my brother Itachi and a few others are usually pretty cool, but some of the other guys on the team are assholes. Like my other brother Madara and Hidan. But like I said, most of them are pretty cool. Just stay the fuck away from them when their girlfriends are around or they'll _all_ get crazy."

Kimimaro opened his mouth to add a comment, but everyone in the room hushed when they heard the front door open. Once they heard it shut, they all leapt out of their seats to get rid of the evidence of their little holiday.

"Shit," Sasori cursed and quickly waved out the fumes using his hand. Naruto and Sasuke were quick to assist in hiding the glass piece and six-pack of beer while Kimimaro put out his cigarette and re-strapped the remaining weed to the bottom of Sasori's desk. It was total chaos. "There's some Lysol in the drawer," Sasori pointed out with a cough and quickly changed his shirt while Kimimaro began spraying the Lysol around the room. As soon as they sat down with casual, neutral and bored expressions, Sasori's door opened to reveal Sakura.

She wrinkled her nose upon entering. "Uh…bad job covering up the weed Sasori…" She looked at Sasuke and Naruto shyly before waving at Kimimaro with a tiny smile. "Anyway, just wanted to tell you I was home."

Sasori nodded, "Alright; so uh this is Sasuke and Naruto. They were supposed to meet up with us at the Warehouse the other night but couldn't make it." Sakura waved with a cute smile on her face.

Naruto broke out into a huge grin. "Hey! It's nice to meet you Sakura!" Sasuke just raised his hand coolly in greeting with a small smirk tugging at his lips. A blush lightly stained her cheeks when she noticed Sasuke's smirk directed at her and she quickly looked away from him to look at the floor around Sasori's feet running her fingers through her hair. For a brief moment, her body tensed up in pain when she accidentally brushed her fingers against her ears and she hoped no one noticed.

But Sasori suddenly jumped up and grabbed her arm to pull her into the light. "Is that what I think it is?" He brushed her hair away from her ear, his hand jumping back a bit when she winced and flinched away. He muttered an apology and carefully moved the hair away from her ear to look at the industrial bar through her cartilage as well as the green taper in her ear.

Sakura's blush intensified and she looked away from everyone else in the room. She felt really warm now, mostly out of embarrassment of having boys staring at her after her already long day.

Sasori on the other hand had an amused expression on his handsome face. "You get that done today," He asked her.

"Yeah," She replied. Silently, she wondered what he was going to say. Was he going to tease her about finally getting her ears pierced after years of shaky commitment? She forced herself not to shake in anxiety and asked what he thought of it.

Sasori just pulled away from her to look at her from farther away. After a minute or so he said, "Hmm…what do you think Kimimaro?" Kimimaro walked over and looked at it before nodding in approval.

"It looks good."

"I wanna see!" Naruto quickly shoved Kimimaro out of the way, ignoring the white haired teen's shout of annoyance and tilted Sakura's head to get a good look at the silvery bar that ran through her ear. He touched it, his hand immediately pulling back when she winced. "Shit sorry," He apologized. "Damn your ear is hella red hahaha! It looks good though Sakura. Where'd you get it done?"

"This place on the Boardwalk called Vortex," She answered, more confident in herself now. Now, it may seem ridiculous to be so worried over a silly little piercing because most teens get tons of them done, but this piercing was very important to her. For years she told herself she'd get another piercing but so many things stopped her.

Kei stopped her. He absolutely _refused_ giving her permission to have more than one _normal_ piercing.

Haruko stopped her. He didn't like girls with too many piercings.

Fear stopped her. She didn't want to experience the pain.

Anxiety stopped her. She was too nervous and self-conscious of what people would say about her.

But now, things were different. That measly little piercing was much more than a piece of metal in her skin. It was so much more than that.

Her smile widened a bit and she looked at Sasori for his opinion. He just stared a bit before shrugging with an amused smirk, "I like it. It looks good on you Squirt."

It was the first stitch over her bleeding wounds.


	9. Live Every Second

**Summary:**_ She was tired of feeling so insecure; of being pushed around. When her cousins bring her to a roller derby game, Sakura runs into a rival skater and causes a fight between two rival squads. Then some cute hockey player named Deidara completely embarrassed her! When Tayuya said things would change, she meant it. "That's it! It's time for a makeover! Goodbye Sakura, hello Pinky Bruiser!"_

**Author's Note:** _Okay so for some reason I'm obsessed with Andy Sixx and Ashley Purdy from Black Veil Brides and Bill Kaulitz from Tokio Hotel today. I'm also grotesquely obsessed with how I want certain Akatsuki guys to look haha. I'm having conflicting feelings on how I want Madara, Obito and Zetsu's hair to look like!_

_Okay so I was thinking of having:_

_-__**Madara's**__ hair looking like Andy Sixx's in the video _Fallen Angels_, or keeping it as the way it is now (a black and red version of Bill Kaulitz's long hair)_

_-__**Obito's**__ hair looking like either Andy Sixx's (because at one point his hair resembled Madara's in the anime) or leaving it looking like Tobi's (spiky, choppy layers, black-almost blue colored)._

_-__**Zetsu's**__ hair looking like Ashley Purdy's hair in _Fallen Angels_, but in green with one random black lock opposite of the shaved side._

_What do you guys think? I'd really like your guy's opinion on this so please tell me!_

_Also, about the __**DeiSaku**__stuff, don't worry my dear readers. The two will encounter again soon…_**very**_ soon…maybe next chapter soon…so enjoy!_

**Things to Know**

**Bonita Platinum:**_ a luxury brand of tequila. It's expensive and used for special events in my family._

**Jinro Soju:**_ Soju is a type of distilled beverage from Korea often sold in Oriental Markets. Jinro is a brand of said liquor, and is one of the most popular brands._

_**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the story "Sketches" by Eric Walters which is the book Sakura was reading in the beginning of the chapter.**_

**UPDATED/EDITED: May 30, 2013**

**Chapter Nine:**

**Live Every Second**

_**Sakura's POV**_

Friends are a very important part of my life. Throughout my life, I've had a hard time making friends, even as a kid. I was always too shy to talk to other kids, and was always bullied for being a crybaby and because of my hair color. I don't know why, but I was ostracized by other kids even when I was nice to them. It was painful for me because my two older brothers had their own friends while I was alone. Sure, they stuck up for me and played with me during recess, but that was about it. It changed a bit when Sasori came into our lives, as he was always trying to protect me.

But as we grew up, that quickly changed.

He had his own friends to worry about, so he had left me to find my own friends. After a while, I met this girl, a cute girl named Kirai who somehow became my best friend. It was weird, actually, because the two of us hated each other. We didn't know how, but our constant fighting and screaming turned into daily sleepovers and parties at each others' houses. Dinners with each other's family frequented, and going to the movies were a regular part of our summer. Her friends were quick to accept me, too, and soon the entire middle school had gone from torture to my friends. Everyone knew me, everyone said hi to me or waved at me as I passed, and things were good. Then, throw in a boy and we've got my first big betrayal.

After that, kids returned to bullying me. Just like in elementary school, my freshman year of high school had been one of mockery and ignorance. Everyone just kind of ignored me as if I wasn't there instead of bullying me. And from my experience, I'd say you don't know who your true friends are until you go through a rough patch. Because of this, I made it my personal goal to make others happy.

And for a while, it worked.

_**Normal POV—11:24 PM Sunday July 21, 2013— Chamomile CT—Haruno-Akasuna Residence**_

"_So I'm walking all the way there for some day old muffins?"_

"_And juice and milk," I added, a bit weakly._

"_Oh, great, that makes it better, milk and muffins. I'll pass." He started walking again._

"_Come on, Brent, would it kill you to drop in one afternoon and have a look?" Ashley demanded._

"_It wouldn't kill me, but it ain't gonna help me either. I'll just—"_

_Suddenly two guys jumped out from behind a dumpster and smashed into Brent, sending him tumbling into the wall! Before he could react or even fall over they grabbed him by both arms and pinned him against the bricks!_

_Ashley rushed to his defense. "Hey, what do you think you're—?"_

_A third guy jumped out of a doorway on the other side of the alley and pushed her from behind and she toppled forward, hitting the wall and then crumpling to the pavement! Before I could even think to react I was grabbed by both arms—a guy was holding me on one side and a girl on the other. They were both about my age…they were all about our age._

"_Don't even think about fighting!" the girl yelled._

_I wasn't thinking about anything—I just felt fear, terror—all I wanted to do was run, but there was no point in even trying. The two sets of powerful hands held me between them, and I was powerless to resist._

_Ashley started to struggle to her feet and the guy who'd knocked her down stepped forward again and kicked her in the ribs! She groaned and then gasped as the air rushed out of her lungs and she collapsed back to the ground._

"_Leave her alone!" Brent screamed._

_Now the guy who kicked Ashley rushed over and punched Brent in the face as he stood there, pinned against the wall! Brent's nose exploded and blood started pouring down his face._

"_Brent!" I yelled._

_The guy spun around to face me, and his look of rage made my blood freeze._

"_Do you want some of this?" he yelled, waving his fist in my face._

_I shook my head slightly, unable to speak._

"_Not a sound from you," he snarled._

_I started to sob, tears just flying out of my eyes._

"_No crying!" he shouted. "You cry and I'll give you something to cry about!"_

_He stepped forward and I closed my eyes and turned my head away, waiting—"_

Sakura jumped at the sound of her phone vibrating loudly against the glass of her vanity. Confused, she pulled the sleeve into the book and shut it to answer. It was an unidentified number, so she answered with a confused yet polite "hello?"

"_Hey Sakura, its Naruto!"_

Sakura smiled and sat up on her bed to sit cross-legged, the book sitting on the bed beside her. "Hey Naruto, um how'd you get my number?"

"_Tayuya gave it to me," _he replied, and she could imagine him shrugging indifferently. _"But that's not important! Go to your window!"_

She turned to look at her window. Confusion bubbled within her belly, but she went to the window regardless. She pulled the blinds up, pulled open the window and poked her head outside. She looked around, first seeing nothing until she heard Naruto's voice in the phone telling her to look across the street; she turned her head, pushing herself dangerously far out the window until she saw Naruto waving his hand across the street. She smiled and waved back and asked, "What are you doing here? It's already eleven! I thought you guys went home after dinner?"

Naruto laughed on the other end, and she swore she could hear the echo of him from across the street. _"Sasuke and I were thinking of going out and thought you'd wanna come? You know, take a trip on the wild side for once."_

Her eyes lit up. "Sasuke is there?"

"_Yup, and so is my girlfriend Hinata. So what do you say?"_

Uncertainly, she bit her lip and ran a hand through her hair. It was late, and there was no way in hell her parents would let her out so late. And she barely knew Naruto and Sasuke—they've only met today! But at the same time, part of her wanted to go out, like she was breaking some kind of law or something. Finally, she sighed, "Alright. Let me get changed okay?"

"_Yeah; is your dog in the backyard?_

"Garage," She replied, "But my window is right before the gate anyway so she won't notice if I'm quiet enough."

"_Alright, we'll meet you at the window so we can help you out."_ He hung up then without a goodbye, so she quickly shut the blinds and shuffled to her closet. She searched through everything she had, then settled on a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, a white shirt and a pair of white low-rise _Converse_. Quickly, she ran to the mirror to check over her appearance; her hair looked horrible.

Biting her lip again, she pulled it out of the braid she had it in then primped the wavy locks to part down her shoulders. Then she picked up a comb from her vanity and back-combed it in a few areas to get some more volume. Carefully, she slipped some pink lipgloss on, gave herself a once-over one last time then ran to her window. When she looked down she saw Naruto and Sasuke beneath the window, smoking a cigarette. When Sasuke spotted her, he crushed the cigarette against his shoe then lifted his arms up while Naruto stood against the wall.

"Put your feet on my shoulders," he whisper-shouted while spreading his legs to shoulder-width apart. Shakily, she crawled out the window leg-first. Her left foot rested on his shoulder, then her right. Sasuke quickly reached for one of her hands while Naruto steadied her legs. "Try not to shake," he told her when he felt her legs quivering.

She apologized and tried locking her knees while Naruto lowered to the ground. When he was on his knees, Sakura quickly stepped off of him, nearly tripping over her own feet if Sasuke hadn't steadied her. A grin spread across Naruto's features as he gave her a quick hug. "Ready?"

After a quick 'yes', the three ran across the street towards a white 1991 Toyota Corolla where a girl was waiting. When she spotted the trio, she gave a smile and waved. She was beautiful; thin and pale with long legs wrapped tightly in black jeans and combat boots, and an hourglass figure clad in a bright blue shirt and black leather jacket. Her hair reached the small of her back and was shade of black that seemed to shine dark blue, with purple streaks on either side of her face and on the tips of her long straight-across bangs that nearly covered her pale gray eyes.

Quickly, Naruto climbed into the driver's seat beside the girl while Sakura and Sasuke hopped into the back. The girl turned in her seat to face Sakura and smiled, "H-hi; I'm Hinata…"

Sakura noticed how quietly the girl spoke. Her tenor was very soft and silent, and Sakura had to strain her ears just to hear her. But regardless, she smiled politely, "I'm Sakura."

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—11:30 PM Sunday July 21, 2013—Ayala and Eastmoor—Club X**_

The music pounded with a heavy bass that shook the floor; the colorful lights blinded him and added to the headache that began to form. He ignored it and instead set his palms on the girl's hips, bringing her closer to his lower body and ground into her. His hands were soon joined by her colder ones as she bent over and oscillated her hips into his, and then sinuously moved her body.

_Now drop it low and let me see your hips swing_  
_down to the floor now let me see your hips swing._  
_Now drop it low and let me see your hips swing_  
_down to the floor now let me see your hips swing._

His fingers tightened around her thin hips and his brows furrowed, beaded with sweat. A smile pulled across her face as she brought her body upwards to rest her back against his chest. Her hands slowly danced up her stomach and sides, over her breasts and into her beach-blond hair.

The smell of sweat was prominent, and he could hear a multitude of voices singing along with the music. His heart drummed loudly and unnaturally with the bass. He could feel his fingers growing damp on the girl's skin but he refused to let go.

_But come to think about it, I think this club is crowded_  
_it's kinda hard to do your thing when everyone's surroundin'_  
_so let me form a circle—everybody step back._  
_I heard somebody yell, "Savage where the party at?"_

He buried his nose into the crook of her neck and let out a soft groan, his fingers ghosting higher up her stomach. He swore he heard her giggle when he brushed his fingers over her sides, but brushed it off. The sickly-sweet perfume she wore made his nose tingle a bit, and he had to hold his breath to prevent sneezing on her.

His arms were beginning to hurt now, a dull throb from keeping it bent and raised for so long. Her curves were delicious, her legs long and toned. And her waist-length hair was soft and curled perfectly. But she was too skinny.

_And I like the way you move it smoothly._  
_Now why don't you move that booty to me?  
I'm trying to come up with some thoughts of attack_  
_until I heard somebody yelling out, "Savage where the chorus at?"_

_Oh shit, shake that ass ma, move it like a gypsy._  
_Stop, whoa, back it up, now let me see your hips swing!_  
_Oh shit, shake that ass ma, move it like a gypsy_  
_Stop, whoa, back it up, now let me see your hips swing!_

His black button up felt tight, just like his pants, and even though he rolled the sleeves to his elbows, he felt like it was even hotter than before.

A hand wrapped around his arm, and he turned his head to see another girl—a brunette—with a seductive smile on her face. A sly grin made way to his own handsome face and he turned towards her, leaving the other girl to find another partner.

Her hoop earrings caught the light, momentarily blinding him but he ignored it like he ignored everything else. His hands rested low on her hips and her hips swiveled unimaginably. He let out a breath of excitement when she ground against him in the most pleasurable way possible.

_Now drop it low and let me see your hips swing_  
_down to the floor now let me see your hips swing._  
_Now drop it low and let me see your hips swing_  
_down to the floor now let me see your hips swing._

"Deidara…" He looked up at the shout of his name and he spotted Zetsu waving him over. He looked down at the girl against his chest and bid her an apologetic goodbye before walking towards the tall teenager. "We're leaving; meeting at Obito's place." His tone was bored, maybe even annoyed. Then again, Deidara couldn't blame him—the guy _hated_ dancing. This just wasn't their scene; even he didn't really like it. But they did it for Tobi.

The blond nodded and quickly went to the coat-check to grab his jacket then went outside into the warm night. He saw his friends converging around their cars and quickly jogged over to meet with them. The girls had left after a heated argument between Deidara and Aya broke out about him dancing with other girls, so it was just the boys left. This was one of the many reasons why the guys never liked going there. The girls were overly territorial over them, so not only did they feel like idiots, they were constantly sitting and watching the girls having fun…He'll have to kill Itachi for putting their names on the RSVP list.

Pein was on the phone with someone, probably Obito or Kakashi, while the others were waiting and talking amongst themselves. When he got off the phone, he set his iPhone in his pocket and scanned the faces of his friends to make sure they were all outside. When he was certain everyone was there, he opened his car door. "We'll meet at Obito's," was all he said before climbing in. Madara, Izuna and Zetsu joined him while Itachi, Hidan and Kakuzu climbed into Kisame's white 1971 Monte Carlo and Tobi in Deidara's pickup.

"Hey Deidara?"

The blond glanced at Tobi as he checked his rear view mirror, "Yeah?"

Tobi smiled at him, "Thanks."

"No problem."

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—12:02 MIDNIGHT—Monday June 22—25**__**th**__** and Lucian—the Drive-In**_

"Two for _Fast Six_," Naruto told the boy behind the ticket-booth. The boy looked tired and uncaring due to the distant look in his black-bagged eyes and the disheveled way his short blond hair fell over his eyes. He looked over at Naruto's passenger then looked into the back seats. Empty.

He nodded then, and pushed his hand out the window. "Eleven-twenty seven," he muttered, his other hand moving to rub his sleepy eyes. Naruto quickly produced the exact amount and smiled widely at the boy as he put it away into the cash register. He then pointed towards the entrance of the lot. "Lot three; go down to the fork, stay to the right and you'll find it."

After a quick 'thanks' from Naruto, he drove further into the lot and turned right at the bend in the road, then searched the fences for the sign labeled "LOT 3". When he found it, Hinata picked a space near the center where a few other cars were. He leaned down to pull the emergency break then shut the car off. After getting out of the car, he paused to stretch and yawn while Hinata moved to the back where the trunk was. Her boyfriend tossed her the keys so she could open it, and when she did, Sakura climbed out of the trunk followed by Sasuke.

"Geez Naruto, couldn't you have been smoother when you drove here? The speed bumps are there for a reason!" The pinkette set a hand on her neck with her nose scrunched up. Her neck was sore from being in the tiny trunk for so long, and so were her legs. She was sure Sasuke was in the same position. When she saw him looking at her, she looked away. That ten minutes cramped in the trunk, against Sasuke's body was far too long in her opinion.

Sasuke nodded in agreement and playfully punched his friend in the arm, "Next time, I'm driving. You and Hinata can sit in the trunk."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, his grin lopsided and easy. "Sorry, I was just in a rush."

"But…the trailers just started Naruto…" Hinata said in her soft voice. Sakura turned to the giant screen behind them and low and behold, the trailers for some movie began playing. She sighed, wanting desperately to just sit down and watch the movie. But a part of her also wanted to return home, to her warm bed and tiny fan. Suddenly, the full weight of her decision to sneak out fell fully on her shoulders, and her heart tattooed her chest as it sped up its beating. She had never snuck out before, and she wondered what would happen if her mother went into her room in the middle of the night to check up on her or something. How much trouble would she get into? When Sasori got caught, he was grounded from extracurricular activities for a week.

"Something wrong?"

She glanced over at Sasuke who was leaning against the car as if it were his own. Heat rose to her cheeks at the question as she felt like Sasuke would judge her if she told him of her apprehensive feelings. That, or make fun of her. She figured the latter would be more accurate. So she plastered a smile on her face, "No, just thinking."

He only nodded and jeered his head in the direction of a building a little off a ways from their current position, in the direction of Naruto, Hinata and several other people were heading. "C'mon," He invited, "I'll buy you something."

Sakura shook her head and waved her hands. "Oh, no it's ok. You bought enough at 7/11 Sasuke," she replied while pointing to the cooler of food they bought at 7/11 just a few minutes earlier. He shrugged and fell in step with Naruto who was heading towards a building not too far away from them, leaving the girls alone.

Hinata looked at her warily, as if she hadn't seen Sakura before. The pinkette shifted under her gaze and wondered why she was looking at her like that all of a sudden when not too long ago they were smiling and talking in the 7/11 parking lot while Sasuke and Naruto paid for some snacks. Slowly, her furrowed brows raised into a more serene expression. "You look worried…i-is something wrong…?"

Sakura shook her head, "No."

"…I-I take it you don't usually sneak out…?"

Bashfully, Sakura nodded. She didn't know _why_ she felt so embarrassed about something so small as being looked at or asked a question about sneaking out. She just did. Just like how she hated being the center of attention or asking for help. She didn't want people to judge her. She didn't want to be looked down upon—she had enough of that with Kei. "Is it that obvious?"

Hinata laughed softly and slipped her hand into hers. At first, the action made Sakura feel uncomfortable; it felt weird to hold a girl's hand—or someone's hand in general. Well, _especially_ a girl, actually, because Hinata's hand was slender and so incredibly soft and fit perfectly with hers, unlike her previous boyfriends whose hands was large, callous and cold. "I know how it feels; especially when you're with people you don't know…it feels awkward right?"

A nod, "Yeah…"

Hinata's grip on her hand tightened slightly, reassuringly. "Well…we're friends now, so don't worry okay?" Sakura nodded and leaned against the car casually. Hinata did the same beside her so their hands could stay intertwined, and they waited for the boys to return.

Hesitantly, Sakura looked at the pretty pearl-eyed girl beside her, "Hinata?" Hinata looked at her with a confused expression that looked too cute to be real, and briefly Sakura wondered why that made her insides flutter. "Um…thank you…for being my friend."

Hinata smiled brightly, "No, thank you for being _my_ friend, Sakura." Then she released Sakura's hand and faced her completely, the shoes brushing against each others at the close proximity they stood. "You…you remind me of myself before I met them…and I think you'll grow to be part of our family…you just need to stop being so scared of people…like I was…"

She then moved to open the back seat of the car, "Now come on…let's get these seats ready." A warm smile pulled at Sakura's lips and the butterflies in her stomach increased, but she nodded nonetheless. And it was then that she realized that despite Hinata's shy and quiet voice, she was a lot stronger than her, that she and Fubuki and Naruto and all of them…would be there for her.

_Thank you Hinata…_

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—12:21 AM—Monday June 22, 2013—Blackberry Way—Obito's Apartment**_

Kakuzu sat comfortably on the couch with his sore legs outstretched. Hidan sat beside him with a black controller in his hands. The flat screen in front of them blurred with bright color and sounds of gunshots and explosions spilled from the speakers on either side of it, though dulled in comparison to the music from the boombox. But they were careful to keep the noise low as not to annoy the neighboring apartments regardless.

Zetsu was sitting on the recliner adjacent to them with the other controller in his hands. Deidara was sitting on a barstool at the counter with Kisame talking about something he didn't bother listening in on and both Hashirama and Shisui had arrived as well. But all the Uchihas were in the bedroom, talking about something apparently very important.

"Hey man," Hidan complained with a slight wine, "Kakashi's taking too long. I'm fucking starving, seriously!"

Zetsu snickered when Hidan led himself to death and screamed about it then agreed with his previous comment. "He's been gone for over an hour…"

"Maybe he's finding a hooker," Hidan replied boredly. "Or some weed." Kakuzu scowled at the thought. Sometimes, his friends were too much for him. Hidan, especially, since they lived together and therefore saw each other every day. They spent a lot of their adolescent years ravaging the party scene with reckless abandon, doing stupid things and following through with their own greedy desires. Their first summer as high school kids had actually been a blur of alcohol hazed memories. And slowly, to some of them, the liquor had transitioned into cigarettes and marijuana.

Usually he didn't mind having a party and getting a good drink, but anything other than that was just bothersome. He didn't like smoking—he didn't want to risk getting caught. And he usually avoided fraternizing with promiscuous girls solely because he found them troublesome and somewhat aggravating. In Hidan's words, Kakuzu was "boring".

And at the moment, he believed him.

Without the alcohol, he might as well head to sleep or go home early. But he knew better than to leave his cousin when deliciously decadent booze was on its way.

He didn't understand how Pein or Deidara could put up with their girlfriends; he was annoyed with them enough as friends. He had a hard time doing _anything_ without hearing them babbling in his ear or complaining about something some girl said. And honestly, he didn't like being around his friends when the girls were around because the moment the girls entered the room with stupid ideas following in the scent of floral perfume, anyone who so much as _breathed_ wrong had become public enemy number one. In Kakuzu's mind, those girls were the embodiment of drama.

He barely heard the keys turning in the lock above the music and explosions, but when he did, he felt his heart clench with excitement, and the adrenaline pumped through his skin again. The door opened revealing Kakashi with a stack of giant boxes of pizza in his hands. "Yo! Someone get the drinks!"

While Kakuzu and Hashirama picked up the multiple brown paper bags and six packs, Kakashi set the pizza boxes down on the table and he pulled the bottles out of the bags. Deidara and Kisame let out loud cheers of excitement as they examined the bottles of Jack Daniels, Bonita Platinum, Voodoo Tiki and Jinro Soju that were placed along with other bottles. "Damn, someone went all out," Kisame commented with a grin as he picked up the Bonita Platinum.

Kakashi smiled warmly, "Well its Tobi's big day!"

"We better have Coke," Kisame said, his tone one of mischievousness.

"In the fridge," Kakashi replied while pointing to the black refrigerator. "I bought a lot this afternoon." He hurried to his cabinets above the sink to pick up several different colored shot glasses while Deidara pulled out the large bottles of soda from the refrigerator. He quickly rinsed them at the sink before setting them down on the bar counter. "Sorry I took so long. I went to about ten different stores so I don't look like an alcoholic. Plus the Oriental Market down the street ran out of Soju. Then Pizza Joint was packed…who the hell buys pizza from Pizza Joint this late?"

Hidan and Zetsu paused their game to join them with Kakuzu close behind. "Hey someone needs to get the birthday boy," Hidan pointed out. Deidara was eager to volunteer and ran down the hall to open the bedroom door. The six Uchihas were lounging comfortably on the bed, discussing something when they turned at the sudden intrusion. Realizing that Kakashi was there, they left the room to join the silver haired man as he poured several shots of tequila.

They passed the cups along to one another and waited semi-patiently for the very last glass to be held. All eyes fell on Obito who had wrapped an arm around his younger cousin and raised his clear glass. The music lowered, though no one cared to see who the culprit was, and all voices hushed.

"I just wanna say," Obito started, his eyes glazed over happily as Tobi pulled his glasses to rest atop his head. Side by side they looked nearly identical. Their scars were nearly exact replicas, their handsomely boyish facial features similar. The only differences, it seemed, was their hair style and color. They could've been twins. Actually, if you put all the Uchiha brothers and cousins together, they could pass off as siblings. It was actually a bit creepy…

Obito cleared his throat and repeated, "I just wanna say…how happy I am that you're here and all. You're finally legal, Tobi, so go and have fun. But not _too much _funnow, you hear me?" Tobi and many others laughed at the statement made by the oldest there, but agreed nonetheless and all simultaneously downed their respective glasses.

The alcohol burned their throats as it passed through.

"Alright now let's get this party started, yeah! Pass the coke and rum!"

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Hey Tobi!" The young Uchiha turned around and looked over at Deidara. The blond was holding a phone—his phone. The screen was lit up with a picture of the last Uchiha brother, and the timer was ticking meaning Deidara had answered. Tobi thanked him and took the phone with him to the bedroom.

"_Hey Tobi happy birthday man,"_ Sasuke had said when he answered. Tobi thanked him happily, though he was a little upset that he couldn't see him in person. But he understood the circumstances; Sasuke's friends weren't very friendly towards Itachi's friends and vice versa, and it was better not to let Sasuke in the same room as Deidara. In fact, just having so many Uchihas in the apartment was dangerous. Not only were they all hot blooded and competitive towards each other by nature, but Deidara and Itachi had only just recently put aside their own grudges.

Ever since they met, Itachi and Deidara had had a rocky relationship. Tobi and Deidara had been friends in elementary school then attended different middle schools, then finally reunited sophomore year. When Tobi transferred into Ocean High, he was recruited to the hockey team, and immediately noticed the way they treated Deidara and his sister Ino. A few of them—Hidan and Madara mostly—tended to pick on the twins. But when Kisame befriended Deidara, they laid off. Itachi, however, had said something that greatly offended him—something he didn't bother remembering but assumed had to do with surfing or his feminine looks—and things went on from there.

But now that Deidara and his girlfriend have been fighting (even more so than usual), the usually laid-back surfer was a ticking time-bomb. He was ready to explode at any moment, and mixing a boozed up, angry Deidara with five or so brazen Uchihas was about as bad as mixing gasoline with a bonfire—it just wasn't a good idea. So everyone had to tread carefully.

"_Tobi,"_ Sasuke called, his voice becoming something akin to annoyance. Briefly, he wondered how many times Sasuke called his name before he finally crashed back into reality.

"Uh sorry Sasuke, it's loud here," Tobi lied, scratching his head. "Tobi is a good boy?"

Sasuke sighed heavily on the other end, but seemed to drop it anyway. _"Right; anyway Naruto and I are gonna drop by real quick to say what's up. Is that okay with you?"_

A smile stretched across his face then. He was glad to know Sasuke was coming, with Naruto no less. They all use to get along once; they weren't friends but they didn't treat each other like enemies. When a birthday came around, the two would come by for a while then leave. But when Konan introduced her new girl friends from the derby team, everything went to hell. Because of their stupid rivalries with Sasuke's friends, the two groups found it nearly impossible to coexist. It strained the already fragile relationship between Deidara and his sister and with Itachi and Sasuke. Like a poisonous gas, their rivalry spread along everyone, and both groups constantly found themselves fighting. Meeting like this was rare and done only when the girls weren't around and when the others were in a good mood.

Because to the girls, meeting Sasuke and Naruto or anyone associated to them was equivalent to treason.

"That's fine. I appreciate it."

"_Well it's your birthday so I gotta do it. We'll be there in a few seconds; we're down the street."_ Before he could say any more, Sasuke hung up. With a bright heart, Tobi hurried to the front door to greet his cousin, ignoring the weird looks he received when he darted down the stairs. When he got downstairs, the unmistakable car that belonged to the blonde maverick pulled up. The doors opened to reveal Sasuke and Naruto sporting thin shirts in the sudden cold.

"Tobi, happy birthday man," Naruto yelled loudly as he hugged the teen. He released him, a large lopsided grin on his pale-pink face.

Tobi thanked him then turned towards Sasuke who was leaning coolly against the car. A smirk worthy of an Uchiha pulled at Tobi's lips as he put a hand out for his cousin to take, and slowly, Sasuke pulled him in for a hug.

"Hey man thanks for coming," Tobi thanked, close to tears. Sasuke just smirked at him and ruffled his hair a bit. It was odd to see, but at the same time looked so _Sasuke_ that it was normal. When they pulled apart, Tobi looked back up at the stairs to see Deidara leaning over the rail with a red plastic cup and cigarette in hand. He was glaring at Sasuke, and Sasuke did the same but with a more indifferent attitude. Finally, Sasuke flipped him off with an arrogant smirk.

Naruto snickered at the pissed off look the surfer gave him then gave Tobi a lighthearted punch to the shoulder. "Sorry Tobi but we better go. We gotta get the girls home before their parents wake up." Naruto paused to look in the car, pulling Tobi with him, to point at the two girls sitting in the backseat. His eyes went wide for a moment when he noticed the very beautiful Hinata asleep with her arms protectively around the girl he had met at work, Sakura. Both girls were huddled beneath Sasuke and Naruto's jackets, heads against each other's and hands intertwined. He looked back up at Naruto who had a glazed look in his eyes. "They're _out _man. We went out to watch _Fast Six_ a couple hours ago and they passed out on the way home."

Tobi smiled softly and shrugged off his jacket, "They look cold…" He slipped into the car quietly as not to wake them, then laid his jacket over the two girls.

When he heard Deidara yelling for him, he sighed. "I gotta go. I don't want you guys to start fighting again…Thanks for coming though. I appreciate it you guys." He gave the two another hug, then waved them off as they drove away before returning to the party upstairs. Deidara waited for him, his breath smelling thickly of rum and eyes glazed over in an alcohol induced stupor.

"What the hell were you doing," Deidara asked, referring to his missing jacket.

Tobi just grinned, "That's a secret Deidara. Tobi is a good boy."

The blond rolled his eyes, "Yeah. Right…"

**Pinky Bruiser**

**Author's Note**

And that was chapter nine. I know, nothing really big going on, but yeah…I promise there will be some DeiSaku action next chapter. And there will be a big "Sakura Inner Bitch Moment" as well, along with some more SakuraXAkatsuki moments. Oh, and Sasori moments hahaha. Because it's time for THE MEETING! So as always, leave me a review. And I'll be updating again soon.


	10. Hero Heroine

**Summary:**_ She was tired of feeling so insecure. When her cousins take her to a roller derby game, she starts up more than enough trouble between two rival squads. Then some cute hockey player completely embarrassed her! When Tayuya said things would change, she had no idea how right she was. "Time for a makeover! Goodbye Sakura, hello Pinky Bruiser!"_

_**Author's Note:**__ Okay so I decided on a speedy update because I know you guys really want to see some DeiSaku/Inner Sakura action and I haven't given you any of that as of yet…but don't worry my Dear Roses, I have delivered such a thing. So enjoy!_

_**IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay so Sakura's improvised performance on the ice is Sasha Cohen's improvised performance to the song Just A Kiss by Lady Antebellum. Go on youtube and search for Sasha Cohen Just a Kiss Improv and you'll find Sakura's routine. But imagine it a bit sloppier.**_

_**UPDATED/EDITED: June 2, 2013**_

**Chapter Ten:**

**Hero/Heroine**

_**Sakura's POV**_

In movies and books, we imagine our first boyfriends or girlfriends and what it's like to have that person we love. We picture someone handsome who loves us for who we are, who has everything in common with us, who is perfect in every way possible. We don't usually think about some guy who'll end up putting us in the hospital. I imagined the usual fantast boyfriend. Instead, I met Kei.

I met him when I first transferred into Suna High as a freshman. I didn't know anyone there except my brothers and step-brother and I never saw them around campus so I just stayed to myself. I never grew close to anyone because no one wanted to be around the crybaby from elementary school or the "backstabbing bitch" from middle school or the "fresh meat" freshman. My brothers introduced me to their friends and I tagged along with them. But that's all I ever was—a tagalong.

And then I had met this boy named Kei Andou.

He was more open to befriending me than anyone else I met there, as we didn't seem to have any awkward pauses in our conversations and his smiles were always so flattering. I ended up feeling happy again after a long stint of middle school depression. Next thing I know, we're tied at the hip. We were always together. At first, I didn't think much of it. What mattered was that there was someone there for me who was able to tear me from the harsh reality that was my insecurity, the source of my depression. There was someone who cared about me—the middle school crybaby with disgusting pink hair, deathly pale skin peppered with traces of acne, and bulimia.

But as time went on and as I grew, I found myself more depressed than before. It had been five months into our relationship, and we had started having problems. He wanted to see me too much. He called too much. At school, I never had time alone with my friends. While my friends were finishing their art projects in the art room, I was in Mr. Orth's room doing his homework. When my friends were out watching movies or at birthday parties, I was at home, talking to him on the phone even if I didn't want to. My family wasn't a priority anymore. Neither was my friends, my skating, nor school—only him.

Every morning, I'd wake up at 5 a. m. to meet with him and do homework I missed while he hung out with his friends two tables over. I'd wait outside in the rain while he did his after school classes. When I went home, he'd call me exactly thirty minutes after I left school and wouldn't let me off the phone. If I didn't answer, he'd call until I did, even if it took him 127 times. At one point, he started picking out the clothes I wore and threw out the ones he didn't like, leaving only short skirts and low-cut tops. When I refused to wear them, he hit me. That was the first time he hit me, and it didn't stop after that.

He had hit me or hurt me for all sorts of reasons; not answering the phone the night before, going to sleep early, forgetting to do his homework so I could do mine, cutting my hair without his permission, going out with my family, etc. Soon, he controlled every aspect of my life. I couldn't have male friends anymore, and I couldn't even go out with my brothers because he felt they would cover up for me if I ever cheated. If I went out with my family he'd call every 20 minutes until I went home. I couldn't wear makeup or cut my hair unless he was there when I did it and therefore approved it. I couldn't see my friends unless he was beside me, I couldn't change the password for my email or Facebook, I couldn't wear the colors black or green, and I couldn't speak in class. He even had me quit skating because he didn't like guys looking at me.

It only escalated from there. I found out he was cheating on me; the first time was when I accidentally logged into his Facebook account and saw the messages he sent to a friend bragging about it. When I asked, he smacked me for breaking his trust. He wore a bracelet with another girl's name on it—the girl he cheated on me with—and took special care of it. The last straw was when I found naked pictures of the girl on his phone when ours accidentally got mixed up. I yelled at him, intending to break up with him, but it didn't work. That's when he began forcing himself onto me, knowing I couldn't fight back because of how weak I had gotten and because I was scared. He made me tell everyone I consented, and I went along with it because I was scared.

My bulimia had gotten worse. My bones were visible from my skin which had gotten sickly pale from stress. He still called me fat and ugly and continued to hit me. I developed insomnia from staying up all hours of the night for him and dark rings formed around my eyes, and disgusting blue bruises covered my back, arms, legs and stomach. I became a shell of my former self. But to my friends and family, I was still the same. I hid them so well, and have no idea how I did. I worried my brothers would discover the abuse more than anything.

And one day, they discovered the bruises when I went out for a family picnic here in Konoha. I was wearing a white shirt over my black tanktop and had been hit by a water balloon. When I took off the wet shirt, the bruises were visible to my entire family. Tayuya, Fubuki, Shiki, Sasori, Ren, Shin…all of them had seen the purple and yellow splotches on my skin, and I tearfully told them everything on the spot beneath a maple tree. I'll never forget the rage in their eyes.

When we returned to Suna, my brothers immediately confronted him. They cornered him in the courtyard in front of the entire school populous. They pushed him around, asking him, "how do you like it?" and when a bystander asked what was going on, Sasori listed off everything. The bruises, the bulimia, the lying and cheating…the web of lies had finally come undone.

And when he grabbed me and pulled on my hair when he ran into me later that day, I unleashed all the fury and strength within me, and I fought back. I pushed and scratched, ignored the tears when he pulled out a clump of hair, and I ran away when he let go.

This time, a teacher had seen it and Kei was expelled and arrested. I haven't seen him since. But I hear stories. And I pray for that thirteen year old girl dating him.

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV**__**—8:28 AM Monday July 22, 2013—Chamomile CT—Haruno-Akasuna Residence**_

Sakura stared at the reflection in the mirror. She just stood there, biting unsurely at her bottom lip. Then she smiled widely and tilted her head to the side. The smile fell. She put a hand in her hair and pushed it upwards with her lips pouted. She sighed heavily and let her hands fall to her sides in frustration.

She was so tired. Naruto and Sasuke had brought her home around 3 a.m., and she was too tired to crawl back through her window, but she had to. The two boys didn't seem to mind boosting her back up the window, and they were all very careful and tired, but as soon as she said goodbye to them, she threw herself on the bed without bothering to change.

After a moment of internal dejected bantering, she turned to examine her side in the full-length mirror. She lifted the bottom of her shirt up past her stomach and stared at the reflection. Then she sucked her stomach in as much as she possibly could. Slowly, a smile made way to her face, albeit a sad one. Her hands touched her pale skin and softly pushed down, making her smile falter when she felt her stomach _squish_ beneath her fingers.

Another sigh…

She faced the mirror with her shirt still tucked upwards to examine her body from the front, smiling at the glinting little piece of metal dangling at her navel. She twisted her body and straightened her back then pulled her shirt down to begin playing with her hair again. She scrunched it up with her fingers, parted them differently then tilted her head in different directions in an attempt to find her "good side". After a minute of that, she moved closely against the mirror to examine her skin, feeling totally disenchanted at the site of a scar running over the natural rise of her cheeks. It was rather unnoticeable, really, but when she blushed you could easily see the thin white line.

Turning again, she pulled down the collar of her shirt to examine the small, gray discolorations on her milky skin and fingered them carefully as if they were fresh. In her mind, they were as fresh as the day she'd gotten them. She quickly pulled her sleeve back up and sat on her bed with a frustrated groan.

A sudden knock startled her and she quickly rushed to answer it. Her step-mother was standing there with a little smile, "Breakfast?"

The pinkette thought about it for a moment before giving an apologetic smile, "Sorry mom, but I don't feel very hungry right now. Maybe later?" That was a lie—she was _starving_ and she would've loved to have some of the homemade breakfast Nika was rarely ever able to make, but she couldn't eat. She just couldn't. Guilt began prodding at the back of her mind, buzzing around like an annoying fly she couldn't get rid of.

Nika only nodded and didn't seem very concerned, "Alright Sweetie. But if you change your mind I'll leave some leftovers in the fridge for you. We're about to head off to work." Sakura thanked her with a hug then closed the door. She timidly walked in front of her closet mirror then lifted her hair into a bun held loosely by her hand, and tilted her head to the left with a flirty smile.

Another sigh…

_It's just ten pounds…then I can eat again._

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—11:23 AM Monday July 22, 2013—Emerald Crest BLVD**_

Sakura smiled at the warmth of the sun as it rushed over her skin. She sat in the shade beneath a tree with Sasori and a few other random guests of the little Park. She clapped her hands together, "Brownie!"

Upon hearing her master's call, the dog jumped up from the spot she was laying at and sped off towards the two teens with her tongue dangling from her lips. Her tags jingled with each step and her ears were pointed upwards in excitement. As she came closer, Sakura tossed a light green tennis ball at Sasori without warning. His brown orbs enlarged before shutting in an attempt to brace himself for the oncoming attack.

A bubbling laugh escaped Sakura's lips as the tiny pit-bull leapt onto the table like a springboard and tackled Sasori to the ground. He groaned and wrapped his arms around the pup with a glare. His face was slightly pink now. "That wasn't funny Brownie!"

"It kind of was," Sakura replied, moving to pet Brownie who just laid herself on Sasori. Her chest heaved with her wild pants, the green ball sitting in her mouth falling onto Sasori's chest. He sighed and let his head drop into the grass and began petting her. His back ached from the sudden impact of hitting the ground back-first, but he'll live.

Sakura began petting Brownie's face and peppered it with kisses while speaking in baby-voices. Brownie soaked up the attention and bent down to lick Sasori's flushed cheeks much to his chagrin. Brownie was an adorable little dog. She was a five year old pit-bull, yes, but she didn't really look like one, so they assumed she was a mixed breed. She was very slender but had muscular hind legs, her fur was a rich chocolate brown that faded into white near her tummy with brown spots on her paws, and her snout had cherry pink splotches. Her eyes were almond shape with long lashes with one black spot beneath the left one. She was a beautiful little thing that nearly reached Sakura's knee when sitting—only half the size of what she should be at her age. But nobody minded her abnormally small size.

In fact, almost everyone at the Small Dog Park loved her. When they first went there a few weeks ago, some of the owners were apprehensive of letting them in because of the pup's breed and suggested taking her to the Big Dog Park right next to them, but after playing with her nearly every day and seeing her play with the other small dogs, everyone fell in love with her. Brownie was now one of _the_ dogs now.

"Brownie!" A little girl yelled out. Brownie quickly sat up and looked at her two owners before running towards the child. She was holding a bag of dog treats, therefore swarmed by multiple pups. Brownie let out a bark of excitement and joined the throng of Scottish Terriers and Pomeranians in a competitive game of fetch with the prize being a treat from the girl. Sasori just continued sitting with his legs still resting over the bench with one arm behind his head. Sakura joined him with a relaxed sigh.

He looked at her, "What do you want to do today?"

She gave a shrug. "I don't know. I haven't really thought about it."

He looked at the watch around his wrist before sighing. "We gotta go soon. Maybe we can go out or something instead of stay home? Maybe check out that skating place? I know you're dying to check it out."

The pinkette arched a brow, "Since when were you interested in what I wanted to do?"

The redhead faced her again, a serious expression on his rather handsome face. If it weren't for the fact Sasori was being so nice, she would've laughed seeing Sasori in his current position. "I just want you to be happy. I've been a pretty lame brother and I know I'm not always in your life but I worry about you sometimes."

She looked away; she knew he was being truthful. But she didn't think of him so lowly. Even though he spoke the truth about not being as present in her life as he could've been a few years ago when he was constantly out instead of asking her about the scars on her body, he made it up to her by being there for her when Haruko hurt her.

She admired him so much that he couldn't even begin to fathom. And it pained her heart to know that he didn't realize that he's done more than enough for her. And for him to tell her directly that he worried about and cared for her…she felt a pang in her chest. This was so…not the impassive Sasori she once knew.

A smile graced her lips, "What's with the sudden change, Sasori?"

He gave her a light punch on the arm. "Let's just say I have a feeling things will be a _lot_ different here. And I don't want you to get hurt again after what happened."

She knew he was talking about the anxiety attacks and the abuse. Again, her heart trembled in happiness. She gave him a smile to thank him, and he just rolled his eyes. "Yeah that's what I'm here for. Tell anyone and I'll deny it."

She wouldn't have it any other way.

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Hey the dogs ran out!"

Sakura and Sasori quickly shot up, much like many other owners did. The last person had accidentally left the lock unhinged and several dogs were running out. The pinkette took hold of the dark blue leash that was on the picnic table and quickly ran towards the gate with Sasori and the other owners who were trying to catch their dogs.

She quickly plucked a puppy Cocker Spaniel from the sidewalk and handed her back to her owner before searching for her dog. She spotted Sasori chasing after Brownie near the Big Dog Park and quickly followed.

Sasori cursed and ran as fast as he could after the dog. She was quick, even for him. His eyes sharpened when he realized the dog was running after another dog that was heading towards the street. "Brownie," he bellowed. He spotted a pair of guys with a Doberman Pinscher and a German Shepherd who just entered the Big Dog Park and yelled, "Hey grab those dogs!"

The guy with whitish-platinum blond hair quickly handed his friend his leash and ran out of the gates to catch the dogs. When they were directly in front of him, he crouched down and scooped up both canines from around the torso, cursing when he nearly toppled over after Brownie nearly slipped out of his grip. Sasori and Sakura quickly jogged over, and picked up the dogs while the old woman who owned the other dog slowly approached.

Sakura smiled at the guy appreciatively while Sasori quickly fastened their dog to her leash. "Thanks," She said, going to pet the smaller dog in her arms. "You really saved our dogs." She tried in vain to hide the blush on her cheeks when she realized just how handsome he was. His skin was so remarkably pale. Yet his eyes were a bright shade of magenta, and contrasted nicely with his skin. And his hair brushed his shoulders and was pushed back with a few wild strands hanging above his forehead, and a hat on top. His black T-shirt was tight and traced his muscles nicely, while his skinny jeans hung lowly on his hips.

The guy rolled his eyes but didn't look at her. "Yeah whatever; watch your fucking dogs next time."

Sasori glared heatedly, "No need to be an asshole."

"He's always an asshole." The trio turned around and saw the second guy come over with their dogs in tow. He was very tall—probably around six feet tall—with tanned skin, a handsome face and unique green-over-red sclera eyes. His hair was dark brown—maybe even black—and spilled down his shoulders in a mixture of silky strands and thin dreadfalls despite being pulled into a high ponytail with just his bangs and side bangs left out, and a pair of shades resting above his head. His black tank top bore a picture of some band along with the words "We Are the Fallen Angels" in white lettering.

"Fuck you," The silver haired guy said, but his tone wasn't one of anger, but rather one of tediously rehearsed exasperation. Then he looked at the dogs the two shorter teens held and gave a mocking snort, "You've got some sissy ass dogs."

"This isn't our dog," Sasori mumbled, nodding his head in the direction of the dog in Sakura's arms. As if on cue, the old woman who owned the dog finally arrived and thanked them all for the assistance and then took the dog back towards the Small Dog Park. The redhead eyed the two teens once more, brown eyes filled with apprehension, but soon replaced by appreciation when he spotted the dogs. He knelt down and put a hand out, beckoning the German Shepherd to come towards him, and slowly the beautiful dog did so. "Nice dog," he complimented, glancing up at the two, "how old is he?"

The taller guy shrugged casually, looking as if he'd rather be anywhere other than there. And with the heat, Sakura didn't blame him. "About five years now."

Sakura's eyes lit up as she also knelt down to pet the dog. He was quick to suck up her attention while Brownie cautiously approached the Doberman. "Wow, that's about as old as Brownie!"

The silver haired teen glanced at the small pit-bull with an incredulous expression. "She's five years and that small? Damn, what else is she?"

"We don't know," Sasori admitted, "We got her from a friend when she was a puppy. But we think she might be part Border Collie because the girl who gave it to us bred them."

The other guy picked Brownie up and held her like he would while burping a baby, and examined her face. Brownie innocently licked his face making him pull away, but he pet her regardless. "She looks part Boxer as well," He muttered. "But she's a beautiful dog."

His friend let out a laugh and pointed at their dogs, "Beautiful dog my ass! Sergeant and Hermes are beautiful dogs."

"Can you not pick on our dog you asshole," Sakura snapped, glaring at him. "We just asked you to catch her, not talk shit about her."

The guy glared at her, his magenta eyes filled with a familiar absolute annoyance that made Sakura flinch back a bit. "Will everyone quit calling me 'asshole'? That's not my fucking name!" He snapped, "First I get it from Obito and now you guys. Fuck you guys!"

The other guy rolled his eyes and put a hand on Sakura's head in a brotherly manner after putting Brownie back down. "Ignore him; he's always like this. I'm Kakuzu, and this idiot's name is Hidan." He released her pink locks and warily watched as Sasori stood up to his full height.

"I'm Sasori and this is my sister Sakura," Sasori introduced, ignoring the exasperated look Sakura had. The pinkette harrumphed at the same time Hidan did, and both looked very displeased at the thought of being around each other when their accompanying pets and partners seemed to completely ignore them. She hated when Sasori was around sometimes because he could make friends easily. People would just go up to them, introduce themselves and befriend Sasori while completely ignoring Sakura even after being introduced.

After a moment, Sasori wondered why Sakura was suddenly so irate. She was usually a calm individual, and pretty shy when it came to meeting new people so it was weird seeing her act so openly disinterested in the two people in front of her. Then again, he knew that when Sakura was tired—which he deduced she was because of the many yawns she breathed—she could be a bit overbearing and reminded Sasori a bit of his pink haired cousins. If she were in one of these moods, anything could set her off; being in the same room as her could make her angry, dropping something could make her burst into tears and ice cream could make her extraordinarily happy.

"What the fuck are you looking at," Sakura finally snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. Sasori arched a brow. _Great, her mood swings are back,_ he sighed with a twitching eye. _I swear she can get pretty bitchy when she's like this…fucking girl issues…_

Or maybe it was just Hidan.

Hidan sneered and grasped a few wayward strands of petal pink hair only for Sakura to smack his hand away. "Oh look, someone's a little mad."

"Hidan," Kakuzu muttered, his tone taking on one of warning.

Hidan ignored him with an arrogant scoff, "Put the claws away. If you _must_ know, I'm looking at you, Tink. Who wouldn't?" Sasori blanched as his body suddenly went rigid. _Oh no—no no, no no no,_ his mind began to panic, almost, as he watched the way Sakura's jaw clenched and fingers twitched. Usually, she was pretty harmless. But you never knew what would happen during her mood swings._ Please don't mention the hair or the forehead or her height…_

"That hair is pretty sick," Hidan finally said with a teasing smirk. "I didn't mean to piss in your Cheerios, Tink." Slowly, Sakura calmed down and mumbled a small 'thank you'. Awkwardly, Hidan went to check the time on his cell phone's screen, "We've gotta get back to walking the dogs…we have shit to do. Hit us up if you wanna hang out sometime. We'll be around here. See ya Peter Pan."

Kakuzu looked at Hidan oddly after the sibling pair walked off—with the girl stomping away angrily and Sasori with an annoyed expression, might he add. He lightly hit the back of his hand against his cousin's ribs, ignoring the annoyed 'oomph' that escaped the latter's lips. "What the fuck—since when were you friendly?"

Hidan shrugged, "I like them. Now hurry up so we can fucking go already."

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—1:14 PM—Monday July 22, 2013—the Boardwalk—Boomer's**_

Deidara gave a sigh and drummed his fingers against the table boredly. The fan beside him blew cold air into his face, making his bangs tickle his cheeks pleasantly. His blue-gray eyes shifted towards the clock on the computer beside him and he let out a small groan. He'd been in since seven-thirty and would be relieved as soon as his coworker got in. Which should've been ten minutes ago. His hangover from Tobi's party was seriously getting on his nerves. Every little sound and movement sent his head into a shockwave of pain.

Frustrated, he ran his hands over his face with another groan. Usually he loved working here, surrounded by records and CD's and great music, but today the heat had spiked up another five degrees giving them a grand total of 115 degrees.

As someone who spent a majority of his time out on the water or the ice, he wasn't very accustomed to the heat. And the waves outside looked tempting. That was another thing he loved about working here—the beach was right in front of him, and the waves crashed against the cliff the building sat on top of.

He loved the smell of the ocean, the cool breeze that sent mists of salty water, the abruptness of the sea. He could feel it now—the cool water swallowing him, the seaweed wrapping around his ankles dangerously, the scorching sand sinking beneath his weight…it sent shivers down his spine in anticipation. So he stared out at the ocean longingly as if she were a woman he could never have.

_If I could ever find a woman as exhilarating as Mother Nature, I think I'd die a happy man, yeah._

The bell above the door chimed abruptly and his gaze snapped towards the male who entered. His brows furrowed as his friend approached the counter with his ice-hockey skates slung over his shoulders and hockey stick in hand. A grin stretched over the boy's features as he dropped the skates on top of the counter carelessly.

"You off yet?"

Deidara rolled his beautiful eyes then gave him a pointed expression. "Does it look like I'm off yet, Hidan?"

Hidan let out an exasperated groan, "Well why the fuck not?" He paused to pull out his cellphone and check the time. "Seriously it's already almost 1:30. You should be off by now!"

Deidara slouched against the counter so he rested his head on his palm. "Tell me about it, yeah. Dude's running late so I need to wait." He examined Hidan's scratched up hockey skates by brushing his fingers over its engravings and dirty ice stains. "What are you doing here anyway?"

Hidan pointed at the skates with his hockey stick and an expression that clearly screamed "duh". "Uh I'm getting you so we can play some hockey, seriously! We've got practice at two!"

A brow arched, "We don't start practice until school starts."

Hidan snorted, "Would you rather sit out here in the fucking heat? Pein and Madara suggested it to coach and he sent an email to the rink for a private session."

A sigh escaped the blonde's pierced lips as he set a hand against his throbbing head. "Hidan I have a hangover. I'm not in the mood to get body-slammed into ice. I just want to ride out the waves today, yeah. Go bug someone else."

Hidan shook his head with a little smirk, "Nu-uh no can do pretty boy. Itachi and Madara told me to drag you to practice today for what you did to that chick on Friday."

Upon mention of the pink haired girl, Deidara couldn't help but smirk. Sure, he felt a little bad for it and it _was_ a bit uncalled for now that he reflected on the entire ordeal, but he had to admit it was pretty funny. She was asking for it—plus he did her a favor. If Konan had been the one to react, the pink haired girl probably would've ended up getting her ass kicked. Then again, Itachi had really berated him for that and Pein was flat out pissed. Apparently the blond had embarrassed him by "causing a bigger scene than necessary".

_Peh,_ Deidara inwardly snorted,_ hypocrite. He was the one about to beat the shit out of the redhead for "touching Konan"._

So Deidara let out a little laugh and waved a hand in dismissal, "Alright whatever. I'll be there, yeah. But I need to pick up my gear at my house and I don't have a ride until next week coz I'm still grounded for that so I'll be a little late." He really hated not having his truck to go out. He and Aya hadn't been able to hang out very much because he's been too tired after walking up steep hills and working 6-10 hours shifts and then his dad has been making him spend his days off working at the diner. And when they did spent time together, tension was constantly rising and fights constantly brewing.

Hidan leaned against the counter, "No you won't. Tobi's off today. How the hell did you think I got here? I didn't take a fucking bus with all my gear!"

Deidara grinned, "Is he outside?"

"No shit," Hidan snorted. "Call your boy so we can leave! It's fucking hot in here!"

"Tell me about it, yeah."

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—1:37 PM Monday July 22, 2013—Colma & Broadway—Namikaze Ice**_

When the doors parted with a nearly inaudible hiss, Sakura felt like she was entering a portal to a new world. The cold air washed over her skin greedily like the sunlight, sending goosebumps over her exposed skin and the odd scent of fresh ice flooded her nostrils. She could hear some people—not many, but some—laughing and yelling as they played around on the ice, barely noticeable over the music that played from the large speakers hanging around the ceilings.

The place was huge—to her immediate left was a ticket booth with a few people excitedly lined up, a little further ways up was a gear shop she wanted to check out then a food court selling nachos and chili dogs was beside that. She spotted stairs leading up to the small restaurant that overlooked the rink in the back seating some people. Then lastly, to her right was a large, Olympic sized ice rink peppered with a handful of people.

"What do you think," Sakura asked with a soft, tentative voice.

Sasori adjusted the hockey skates draped over his left shoulder with a grunt as he allowed his ocher eyes to roam the room around him, just like Sakura did. Finally, he nodded appreciatively, "Not bad."

Quickly, they paid for their tickets and strode over towards the stack of bleachers to begin lacing up their boots. Sakura's hands trembled slightly as she looped the stained white laces through the white hooks along either side of her boot. She wasn't sure if it was from the cold or from her nerves.

"It's been a while," Sakura mused quietly. Her heart began to pump wildly beneath her breast and vaguely she wondered if she even remembered how to skate. It had been years since she was last on the ice and she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of strangers. Nostalgia began to overwhelm her as distant memories of pre-skate preparations flashed within her brain. Her heart had sped up, just like it did before; her blood warmed with the rush of adrenaline, and her muscles ached in a strange, normal sensation. She wondered if Sasori had the same feeling. "Well for me, at least."

Sasori nodded in agreement. "It has. Think you still know how to skate?"

Sakura's eyes snapped upwards to meet Sasori's and he just smirked at her with a mischievous glint in his eye. A smile inched its way onto her pretty face as she tugged tightly on the slack from her boot. Despite the teasing hint in his voice, she could hear something else in his tenor as he spoke. She knew Sasori missed skating—he loved rollerblading more than anything in the world, but being on the ice was his second love, his Mistress actually. And when Sasori was out there skating his heart out and slamming his opponents into the glass, everything faded into a vision of him trying to conquer the concrete. It was a strange thing, because he was torn between which he loved more, and Sakura never understood his strange addiction to either sport.

But one day, she hoped she would.

"Of course," She replied, "will you be able to keep up with me?"

This time Sasori snorted and finished the first knot. "Please; I've always been faster."

Sakura just harrumphed in response and waited patiently for Sasori to finish knotting the excess laces. When he did, Sakura pulled off the hot pink blade guards from her boots and quickly locked away in a locker beside the bleachers along with their shoes. Carefully, they trekked through the rubber floors and headed towards the door which Sasori held open for her.

It took Sakura a moment to regain her balance, but once she did, she found herself gliding across the ice with little difficulty. Soon, Sasori was beside her with a small smirk on his tanned face, along with a peaceful expression. They just skated a few laps, talking about anything they could think of. For a moment, there wasn't little kids falling around them and couples blocking the path or a straggler holding onto the rail as if it were a lifeline.

It was just Sasori and Sakura—brother and sister.

Sasori laughed at her when she nearly fell and helped her steady herself, only to be tripped by the girl. Confusion clouded his pretty eyes as Sakura giggled at him, and slowly he smirked again when she began skating off. He stood up and quickly skated after her. The pinkette had bent her knees lowly with her arms outspread behind her for maximum balance and speed, only looking back to see how far away he is. When he nearly reached her, she dug her blades into the ice at a sharp angle before skating backwards.

Sasori quickly followed, shaved ice flying into a pile at the grind of his blade. She faced him now, a teasing grin overtaking her as he reached for her again. She twisted away from him, eyes widening when she nearly fell.

"Ha," Sasori chortled cockily, "That's what you get."

Sakura laughed at herself for the almost-tumble and stopped in front of him. "Oh shut up!" The impish glint caught her eye again, and she tapped Sasori's forehead with enough force to make him take a step back. "Tag, you're it."

Sasori watched as she immediately backtracked, fierce jade eyes locked with his own, challenging him to follow her. For a moment, he was slow to take off as his eyes had drifted elsewhere. His hazel eyes were actually staring at the teens sitting on the bleachers, all carrying large duffel bags with hockey skates on their feet. They were watching the two, he could tell from the way they grinned and pointed.

They were watching them.

They were watching _him_.

His eyes sharpened, and he hastily took off after his younger sister, fully intent on catching her.

**Pinky Bruiser**

Pein's eyes fell over the rink, drinking up every single person on the ice. They were hard to miss. They were talking and laughing and zipping through the thin throngs of people as if they lived on the ice. From what he could tell, the girl knew what she was doing out there. And the redhead was just playing around.

"_That's_ him?"

Pein glanced towards his left where Zetsu was sitting, slipping his skates on. The green haired teen had pointed at the skilled redhead with a rather impressed expression. Or, at least that's what Pein thought it was.

"Yeah," The orange haired teen finally said. "That's Sasori Haruno-Akasuna."

A small snort came from the blond haired surfer of their group. "He's okay. But I doubt he'll want anything to do with us after I cheesed his sister, yeah."

Though Deidara hated to admit it, he was impressed with the boy's speed. He was fast, maybe even as fast as Tobi and Madara. Sasori seemed to know the ice well, oddly, almost as if he'd spent every single day of his life on it and memorized every single carve and indent in its shiny white surface. His eyes were so strong and dedicated, and he felt a strange sort of familiarity when he realized that was the same look he had when he surfed. As for the girl, she was quick on her feet for someone who appeared a little out of shape. She glided over the ice like raindrops on a window. And even though part of him thought of her as a nuisance, he couldn't help but appreciate her talent.

But that was all she had.

Begrudgingly, he crossed his arms and leaned back against the set of legs behind him, Hidan's legs. "Where'd you find him, yeah?"

Madara stood up to stretch his back and arms out in preparation for the rigorous practice they had in store. "The skate-park over on Mission and Raven Crest," He replied indifferently. "Pein and I were going to sneak in after leaving the party last night and we saw him tearing up the park."

Hidan harrumphed, "Skateboard?"

Madara shook his head enthusiastically then slipped his hands behind his head. "No, blades," He corrected, "And he was all over the place man."

He watched the siblings meet up in the center to talk. He didn't know what they were saying because of how far away they were, but his thoughts were soon torn away from them and towards the blond who was screaming a name down near the bleachers. The two's heads snapped towards the direction of the voice, smiling when they noticed the maverick and his best friend before hurrying to join them.

Madara arched a brow when he spotted Naruto, his girlfriend Hinata, Sasuke and another friend of theirs up on the bleachers.

"Guys," The girl, Sakura greeted with a surprised shout. "What are you doing here?" She and Sasori stepped off the ice to greet them all with hugs, but what caught Madara's attention was the jacket Sakura was wearing. It looked oddly familiar, and he quickly searched his brain for where he'd seen it before.

He didn't bother listening then, as he would've had to strain to hear them, and returned to the conversation with his friends. "We talked to him right," Pein started, gesturing towards Sasori with a jerk of his thumb, "and he said he played back in Suna for South Suna High. I looked them up. Their school was in the papers—they won playoffs every year for the past ten years down there except last year."

"What happened," Deidara asked.

"He was expelled," Madara replied, "Newspapers say he was one of their all-star players and that he got into a fight with someone right before playoffs against Franklin. Big fight too, apparently." He pointed at Sakura, "And she was hospitalized in the aftermath."

"Damn, what the hell happened," Hidan asked. "Did he beat her up or something?"

Madara shrugged his shoulders, "Didn't get all the details. But it said he was defending his sister from some guy that was harassing her. But because of the brutality of Sasori's fight, he got expelled and kicked off the High School League."

Itachi then nodded, interested in the conversation, "I remember Sasuke texting me yesterday about a friend wanting to join…I think that's him."

Hidan gave a casual shrug of his shoulders, "We met him earlier at the dog park. He looks too scrawny. But his sister man," he whistled with an impish grin tugging at his lips, "She's pretty feisty."

Deidara snorted, amused by Hidan's statement. "Yeah, right. That's the girl I cheesed the other day isn't it? The one who cried like a little bitch and ran away?" Some of the guys snickered at the statement, but most of them brushed it off as they weren't very interested in her or the story Deidara had told time and time again. Deidara leaned back against Hidan's legs again and pointed a gloved finger at the redhead, "I admit he's fast, yeah. He looks dedicated and passionate about it. I think we should recruit him, yeah."

Pein gave a shrug. He was really interested in the redhead and his skill on the ice. When he met the redhead earlier that morning, in an intoxicated state, they nearly got into another fight. The two ended up ignoring each other as they went on skating and sometime later, he and Madara were talking to him as if the three were best friends. Next thing he knew, he was telling the redhead to go to the skating rink and show them what he could do and maybe they'd put a good word in for him.

And right now, he wasn't regretting that decision.

**Pinky Bruiser**

"What are you guys doing here," Sakura asked with a surprised, but pleased, expression as she hugged Naruto.

The blond gave a cool shrug. "A little birdie told us you were going to be here. And you know we just had to stalk you over here." Sakura laughed a bit and punched his shoulder playfully. But he winced and rubbed the spot on his shoulder as if she had bruised him. Which she very well may have done.

Hinata gave Sakura a small, shy smile but hugged her regardless. "U-um we were wondering if you guys would want to go out when you're done…?"

Sasori paused, his lip between his teeth as his eyes roamed the stands until he found multiple eyes on him. He turned back to Hinata and gave an apologetic frown. "Sorry but I'm going to do something after. You can go on without me though."

Sakura tilted her head in confusion. "You do," She asked, "what are you doing?"

"I saw a skate-park earlier and was thinking of chilling over there. Meet up with some friends," He replied casually with a shrug. "I may catch up with you guys later though." Sakura frowned a bit, but decided it wasn't worth being upset over.

"I'd be happy to hang out with you guys."

Kiba gave a large, toothy grin and pat her back encouragingly. Maybe a little too encouragingly, actually, because she nearly tripped over her skates. But he ignored it and instead asked how she managed to skate on "those things" as he called it. Hinata was quick to agree.

"I thought you were one of those roller derby girls, Hinata," Sasori pointed out, "Wouldn't it come naturally to you? It's the same as being on roller skates."

She immediately shook her head. "O-oh no…! Not for me! I-I can't ice skate…it's harder than roller skates…"

Sakura smiled widely at the girl, and Sasori couldn't help but feel like his breath was taken away by the pure happiness and sincerity behind it. "I can show you sometime, Hinata." He looked down at the floor, thinking about the smile she had just offered. It was a beautiful smile that she once wore thousands of times. But now it was so rare that it stole even his breath away when he saw it.

Why don't you show us now?" Sasuke asked suddenly, and Sasori caught the way Sakura blushed beneath his gaze. Slowly, his jaw clenched but he refused to do or say anything about it yet. "Let's see what you can do Sakura."

Kiba and Naruto were quick to agree, and were teasing her about falling. At first, Sakura declined with a blushing face, insisting she was tired and ready to go out, but when Naruto and Kiba began chanting her name, attracting attention from everyone around her, she relented to their requests and went out onto the nearly empty rink. The group settled themselves on the bleachers in a way they could easily see Sakura from all over the rink, and they waited for her. Even Sasori was interested in seeing what Sakura would pull off. For a moment, he worried that she'd get embarrassed if she fell or something, but he knew that once she re-discovered the feeling, she's be able to do anything on those skates.

A pause in the music signaled the end of the free skate session, and Sakura was going to take advantage of that, had another song not come on. There it was.

The adrenaline pulsating though her veins…

The shaky thumps of her erratic heart…

The loss of her breath…

She closed her eyes and listened to the music playing.

**Pinky Bruiser**

As the soft, melodic piano moaned and hummed, she gave two slow turns before drifting backwards, her arms dancing gracefully on either side of her. A quick twirl and she rounded the curve of the rink.

_Lying here with you so close to me_  
_it's hard to fight these feelings _  
_when it feels so hard to breathe_  
_I'm caught up in this moment._  
_I'm caught up in this smile…_

Her slow, graceful turns and slips transformed into a beautiful twirl that lasted several seconds. She faltered a bit, her toe-pick sliding over the ice wickedly, when she attempted to transition out. Sasori saw her steady herself with a bitten lip of uncertainty.

Blushing madly, she backpedaled at a curve, twisting her body from backwards to forwards, unsure of what she'd do next—all while avoiding the last few skaters that clung to the walls, watching her in surprised awe.

_Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight_  
_just a touch on the fire burning so bright_  
_And I don't want to mess this thing up_  
_No, I don't want to push too far_

She soared over the ice like a hawk over a pond. A smile had pulled onto her face, and the confidence nearly poured out of it. A small smile formed on Sasori's lips as he noticed the way she skated now. Her strides were confident, her smile wide. Her eyes were so filled with passion and fondness, than even though her lack of practice peeked out of it, she still looked amazing out there.

The imperfection of her routine, the spontaneity and grace all poured into one surprising performance. She was almost like an angel with how she floated above the ice. He couldn't tear his eyes off of her, nobody could. From the corner of his eye he could see Pein, Kakuzu and even Hidan watching her every move like she was a television show.

_Just a shot in the dark and you just might_  
_be the one I've been searching for my whole life._  
_So baby I'm alright_  
_with just a kiss goodbye…_

"Whoa…" He was speechless. The pink haired girl before him was skating so intently. Her cheeks had become rosy pink from either embarrassment or the cold—he wasn't sure—but she looked so unbelievably tranquil and centered as she pulled her leg behind her head.

But no matter how beautiful it looked to him, he couldn't help but notice how impersonal it looked. It didn't seem to come from her heart or reveal her personality. They were just graceful turns and twists accompanied by a smile. There was no personality. No fire.

His friends were all quiet, watching with obvious interest as she twirled on the toe-picks of her skates. Her speed picked up then with the music, and she lodged her pick into the ice and jumped, twirling her body.

_Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight_  
_just a touch on the fire burning so bright_  
_And I don't want to mess this thing up_  
_No, I don't want to push too far_

_Just a shot in the dark and you just might_  
_be the one I've been waiting for my whole life._  
_So baby I'm alright_  
_with just a kiss goodbye…_

Her landing was sloppy; she would've fallen had she not set a hand against the ice to balance herself. In the background, he could hear loud cheers, and swore her smile grew as she gave one last, slow turn and paused, frozen in the center of the rink.

The room filled with loud clapping and whistling. Kiba and Naruto were standing on the seats of the bleachers with their hands in the air, using both hands to make the universal symbol for "You Rock" rather than one.

"Too much rock for one hand, baby," Naruto and Kiba screamed with a blushing Hinata between them trying to force them back down while Sasuke and Sasori pretended not to know them.

Sakura's chest heaved with each shaky breath and her heart felt ready to explode. Her eyes darted around to all the people who were applauding her, and she felt like tears were beginning for form. So shyly, she curtsied and hurried off the ice and into the arms of her friends.

Deidara watched as they hugged her and congratulated her with ruffles of the hair and pats on the back. But what really caught his eye was the boy with black and orange hair and sunglasses who had darted out of nowhere, picked her up in his arms and hugged her.

"Hey…isn't that Tobi?"

**Pinky Bruiser**

"Oh my God Sakura that was _awesome_," Naruto raved, running a hand through his hair as he led her to his car. "Who knew you had it in you!? Did you _see_ all those people watching you?"

Tobi was quick to agree, just as energetically if not more so than Naruto. "That was so cool Sakura! I wish I had that on camera!"

Sakura smiled widely. She was too lost for words to really say anything else. She had never done anything as spontaneous as that before, and hadn't intended on being in the spotlight like that! But despite the embarrassment of attempting only one jump and failing at it, she was proud of herself for not falling flat on her ass or giving up. Her anxiety had been forgotten, almost as if it never existed in the first place.

She liked the attention, and part of her wanted more of it.

_**You're not a loser, Sakura. You're so beautiful and you need to see that.**_

_I feel beautiful for once._

_**Good, because you are. Love yourself—that's the first step to being happy.**_

Hinata's hands had intertwined in hers again, and that strange fluttering feeling formed in her stomach again. She could feel the weird sensation the moment Hinata's cold fingers touched her surprisingly warm ones. The two girls met each other's unique eyes, smiles burning their cheeks from the happiness. "Sakura…that was amazing," Hinata said with a soft voice. "Have you ever t-thought about going professional…?"

"I did once," She admitted as she looked down at her boot-clad feet. "When I was younger my dream was to go on to the Olympics. But now I don't think so."

Tobi wrapped an arm around her, completely oblivious to the glare Sasori gave him. "Tobi bets you can do it!"

She wasn't sure how many compliments she could take. Her heart was still drumming madly within her and she wore a tattoo of it would be left imprinted against her skin!

"Sakura," Hinata called suddenly. She had the most angelic smile Sakura had ever seen before in her life. "We…we could use someone like you on the Cherry Bombshells…y-you should consider joining…!"

Naruto and Kiba's eyes went wide as saucers, almost wider than Sakura's. Sasori however, nearly dropped his jaw and looked at Hinata as if she grew a second head. Kiba jumped in front of her and gripped her arms tightly in his own. "Sakura do you know how awesome that'd be? You should totally do it."

She was flustered again. She felt so excited and flattered and happy and…oh! She just didn't know what to say! "Y-you really think I could be one of the Cherry Bombshells?"

Hinata nodded, "O-of course! You're fast…talk to Tayuya about it…?"

"I'll think about it," She finally said and hugged Hinata. Tears were beginning to form in her eyes, and she forced them back. "Thank you so much…for being here for me…"

"We're always going to be here for you," Sasuke replied from somewhere behind her. "No matter how annoying you are, we'll be right behind you."

"And twice as annoying," Naruto added with a cheeky grin.

Sasori just watched as Sakura finally accepted the people before them. He couldn't sense it now—the doubt. Before, she was filled with so much trepidation and uncertainty when she was around other people. She was careful with how she spoke and put up an invisible wall between them. But now, all he saw in those beautiful green eyes was acceptance.

_**First step up the stairs—complete.**_

"Hey Tobi, what the hell are you doing over there, yeah!" They turned and Sakura's eyes widened. There, standing a few feet away from her was Hidan, the boy from the park; the boy with a blue and silver fauxhawk from the warehouse, and Ino's older brother, Deidara.

His deep blue eyes focused on her, before filling with an unidentified emotion. He crossed his arms and looked at Tobi again. "Hello, we have practice remember? Stop fucking around with _them_ and let's go, yeah."

He glanced at Sakura and the two stared at each other for what seemed like hours. She forced down the beginnings of a blush when she noticed just how deep his eyes appeared. They were endless, almost, and so incredibly _blue _that it seemed unnatural. They were shaped so damn _perfectly_. His face was boyishly handsome with a slightly feminine touch from his blond hair. His black lip-ring stood out in such perfect contrast to his pale skin and brought her attention towards the soft-looking slips of flesh.

And for a moment, he thought he was drowning in her bright emerald orbs. They had lit up and sparked with raw emotion—rage, anger, defiance. They were so large and wide, literally looking like the windows of her soul, and rimmed with long lashes that tangled and curled at the ends. Her heart shaped face looked so innocent and childish in an odd sort of way. And her milky white cheeks were dusted with a soft, natural pink that he hadn't seen from a girl in such a long time.

And it entranced him.

_She looks like a nerd._

Finally, he turned away with Tobi in tow with little more than an arrogant snort.

**Author's Note**

**And that was chapter ten. Okay! So Sakura and Deidara have finally met again. I made this chapter much longer because I know you guys really wanted to see some DeiSaku stuff and I felt bad for having like…none of it until now. So, now we see more of Sakura's inner feelings coming out, her little fears, what ticks her off, her past actions and so on. So, I hope you enjoyed and please, leave me a review!**


	11. Listen to Your Heart

**Summary:**_ Sakura's life was boring. She wanted something more. When her cousins take her to a roller derby game, she definitely gets more. She starts a fight, gets cheesed by a guy on the hockey team, meets new friends and decides it's time for a little makeover. Surfers, derby girls, hockey players and bitter rivals—what more can you ask for? "Goodbye Haruno Sakura, hello Pinky Bruiser!"_

_**UPDATED/EDITED: June 10, 2013**_

**Chapter Eleven:**

**Listen to Your Heart**

_**Sakura's POV**_

As we grow up, we develop a lot of expectations on what we do as teenagers and how life is going to turn out. I think _Disney_ is a big contribution to my expectations—to all of our expectations, actually. It's the same with _Cartoon Network_ and _High School Musical,_ too. After watching all these cartoons and TV shows, we've developed a sense of "reality" and what things will be like once we turn thirteen. Because remember when thirteen was the gateway to adult hood?

I remember watching an episode of _the Powerpuff Girls_ when I was around seven or so, the episode where they turned into teenage girls and were at the mall, talking on their cellphones, wearing makeup and holding a purse while the Rowdy Ruff Boys checked them out. I remember watching _Bring it On_ and wanting to be a cheerleader because those girls looked so damn cool and pretty. I also remember watching _Ice Princess_ and _Go Figure_ and thinking that one day I'd be a famous figure skater, too. And I remember watching _Cinderella_ and excitedly thinking about my Prince Charming and how everything will be fine after that. I felt like all that would happen to me the moment I stepped into high school—I'd get a cellphone to talk to cute boys and my best friends into late hours of the night if I wasn't out with them already, barely making curfew; I'd find the most perfect boy who would make me happy and we'd go on after high school to get married, and I'd be popular or at least well-liked around campus.

But that dream never seemed to come true. I had gotten a cellphone, yes. But it was back when flip-phones were all the rage. It was a bright pink brick with a pull-out antenna, and every time you opened and closed it you could hear the _crack_ of the material. I got it for my thirteenth birthday back in middle school from my dad and uncle Miku. I use to show it off because I was one of the only girls in school who even had a phone. And these girls beat me up for it. But I didn't let it go and managed to run away before they could pry it from my fingers. As I look at it now, it really wasn't an expensive phone or anything. As for the popularity, it just didn't happen. Reality slapped me pretty painfully in the face when I discovered that.

No one really talked to me and the ones who did were usually picking on me. For the dumbest reasons, too. For example, ever since first grade I absolutely _hated_ the way paper felt against the side of my palm. So when I wrote I always had to have something between my skin and the paper like my sleeve or a smooth book. They picked on me for that and I have no idea _why_. And once on the monkey bars, my hands slip and I plummeted to the ground and ended up landing on the edge of the platform. It knocked the wind out of me and I saw black spots when I tried looking up at the amazingly blue sky above us. They just stood around me and laughed while a teacher quickly ran across the blacktop towards me with a first aid kit. Maybe I was just easy to make fun of?

I didn't know.

Gosh I'm rambling. What I'm trying to say is: all those fucked up expectations of being popular, finding a boyfriend and going to college don't actually happen the way they do in the movies. I mean, when the hell has an ice skating competition ever patiently allowed a little homemade robot to hold up the schedule, just for a girl to skate? When has finding a man immediately erased all your problems? And when has a boy ever magically bumped into you and ended up becoming the boy you fall in love with and you go on living happily ever after?

Never, that's when!

Do you remember the first time you tried putting on makeup? You took the eyeliner in your hand in an unsure grip and leaned in really closely to the mirror with your free hand gently tugging at the edge of your eye. And when you brought the pencil to your eye, you either marked too high or poked yourself in the eye or something. Remember how awkward it felt?

Do you remember buying your first bra? Mom had the most excited look on her face while daddy was sulking about his little girl growing up. And you're searching the racks of the "tweens" department at _Target_ while trying to avoid eye contact with anyone and everyone you came across. Oh and don't forget trying it on. Anybody remember how awkward _that_ was?

The point I'm trying to make here is that you shouldn't believe what expectations were set from TV. Yeah, it's pretty obvious now that we're teenagers, but it's still important to think about. We're not Disney princesses, waiting for Prince Charming to save us. Our lives aren't going to be as perfect as portrayed in _Cadet Kelly_, or _Lizzie McGuire_. And we weren't going to find friends as perfect and loyal as the ones in _Gotta Kick it Up_. And the bad boy in school isn't going to suddenly fall in love with us like in _10 Things I Hate About You_.

So stop acting like it!

We're girls—high school is harder for us than guys because of stupid double standards! We need to toughen up! I bet you can line your eyes with eyeliner and even dust it with eyeshadow now. And I bet you don't even think about it when you put a bra on. Men don't know this, but we're all strong, we just need to realize that we can't wait for someone to make us strong and we can't look towards expectations anymore.

I realize that now thanks to my new friends.

I owe it to them to try and take off without the training wheels.

Get ready world, here I come.

_**Normal POV—12:53 AM Friday July 26, 2013—Haruno-Akasuna Residence—Chamomile Ct**_

Sasori waited. He hated waiting—but he waited. He waited until he was sure everyone was asleep and tucked away in bed before slipping his shoes on. He threw on a black jacket, pocketed his cellphone and threw his skates over his shoulder.

He tiptoed out of the room, sticking close to the wall to avoid creaky boards, then quietly opened the door to the stairs leading to the garage. He paused, silently cursing when the door hinges creaked but slid past the door and down the stairs. He climbed over the baby-gate used to keep Brownie out and cursed when the cold air hit his skin.

Brownie let out a low yap, and Sasori was quick to pet her and calm her down to prevent her from barking. Pausing, he went to the fridge beside the washing machine and pulled out a bottle of water to go. Slowly, he strode across the garage and slipped open the doggy door that led to the backyard. He pushed his skates out then slipped his body out then unlocked the fence to get outside.

It was cold. Surprisingly cold, actually. The orange streetlights flickered a bit in the nearly endless night and offered the only source of light for him. His sneakers pummeled against the concrete with each step and his breath left in rhythmic exhales of air. Slowly, the sweat dripped from his forehead and his crimson locks began to stick to his pale skin. The run wasn't long nor the distance far for he soon ran across the Uzamaki Skate Plaza. He remembered Naruto telling him that both the ice rink and the skate plaza were named after his father because the man was a very influential figure in the community, and had helped build them. It really made him respect Minato. He could also see the pride beaming within his cerulean depths every time he mentioned his father.

It was the same pride he held for his stepfather, Kizaki.

He threw his skates over the gate then quickly scaled it. It was empty, of course, and he really hoped it stayed that way. The only reason it was gated and stuff was because the little stand that sold energy drinks and waters. People were worried someone would break into it if it was left unfenced. But he didn't really care. He had heard that there was a big indoor one in one of the many warehouses on Cherry (which was basically multiple warehouses of anything), but knew he couldn't' break in. besides, he didn't mind using the outdoor one. It had everything necessary for a skate plaza: concrete stairs, shady rails, banked slopes, impossible 90 degree walls and pools—it was almost perfect.

If this is what the outdoor one looked like, he couldn't wait to see the indoor one.

He sat on the edge of the pool and began lacing up his skates. They felt so incredibly comfortable on him, almost as if he wasn't even wearing them. He wore them for _hours_ nearly every day for the past several years, so they now conformed perfectly against the unique curvatures and bends of his feet.

He tossed his shoes to the side, plugged in his iPod and stood up so he could properly drop in. And when he did, he felt all his stress and worries fade to black.

The air slapped him in the face and tore his hood from his head, but he didn't care. It was cold, but he didn't care. He was tired, but he didn't care. He just didn't care. And it felt nice—no great—to not care. He felt so free and light for once in his God forsaken life!

So many years of angst and anger and indifference—all of it gone for just a second.

As he spun in the air he felt the adrenaline pumping through his veins. When he landed, his heart jumped. His body felt a bit awkward at the sudden angle but he ignored it, planted his hand against the rim of the pool and twisted his body over. At the next rise, he leaned his body to the left to grind across the edge then went down backwards only to turn halfway across the pool.

He was skating faster now. His knees were lower and his strides wider. He planned on leaving the pool with this jump to tackle the seven-stair vertical right beside the pool when someone jumped at him, making him panic and flail.

"Coming in hot," Somebody yelled.

Sasori landed painfully on his unprotected hands and knees. He let out a loud, pained curse as he examined his hands. The beginnings of his palms were burned red with tiny pebbles imbedded in the skin. He was sure his already ripped jeans were no better at protecting his knees as his jacket was and forced himself to sit properly to glare at the two boys in front of him after angrily yanking out his ear buds.

"What the hell do you want," Sasori asked with an irritated glare.

The one who jumped out at him had been the boy he recognized from the last time he snuck out—Madara Uchiha, also known as one of Sasuke's older brother. Beside him was his friend, also known as the boy who started a fight with him a week or so ago, Pein Fuuma.

Madara smirked teasingly. "We knew we'd find you here again."

Sasori's glare didn't waver one bit and only appeared angrier if possible. "That doesn't answer my question."

Pein rolled his eyes and sat beside him but didn't meet his eyes. "We were looking for you."

"At…" Sasori glanced at his cellphone, "one-thirty in the morning?"

Madara shrugged a bit and rolled his skateboard back and forth with one foot. "We were going to look for you in a few hours but you made it so much easier." He coughed into his arm a bit then spat at the ground almost disgustingly. "Anyway we were watching you at the ice rink last week. You're pretty good."

Sasori mumbled his thanks and took a sip of the water he had brought from home, silently waiting for the rest of their explanation for stalking and interrupting him during his alone time. This time, it was Pein who spoke.

"You interested in joining hockey at OHS?"

Sasori exhibited a casual shrug of his shoulders as he decided to keep things cool and indifferent. That's what he always did, so why stop now? "Maybe; depends if it's worth my time."

A snort echoed into the night rather loudly. Madara had crossed his arms and looked almost offended at the redhead's apathetic attitude. "It's worth a lot more than your time. We're one of the best when it comes to hockey in this area. Our biggest rivals are South City high school and even they can't beat us on a bad day."

"So why are you asking me to join?"

"Who said we were asking you to join," Pein shot back smoothly. "We just asked if you were interested. I didn't say anything about recruiting you, did I Madara?" Said Uchiha only shook his head with an amused 'I don't think so'.

Sasori arched his brow curiously. "Then what do you want?" He didn't like how they danced around his question. He wanted a straight answer. Was that too fucking hard to understand? It's like when he asks someone "what's up" only to get a ridiculous answer like "the sky". He fucking _hated_ it. The longer someone beat around the bush, the longer he had to sit there and do nothing.

Madara chuckled then, a deep yet somewhat boyish chuckle, and waved his hands in mock surrender. "Okay you got us. We're trying to recruit you and we're failing at it."

Sasori snorted a bit but retained a small smirk. He liked Madara—he seemed fine in terms of personality so far. "Alright; what's in it for me?"

A strange sound escaped the bottom of Pein's throat Sasori said this. It sounded almost like a snort and a laugh, but it was too indistinguishable to tell what the hell it actually was. But it sounded weird. "God I hope you're not like Kakuzu." He then rested back on his hands and wiggled his sleep as it fell asleep. He hated the feeling—the prickling needle-like feeling that tickled when something touched it.  
"Anyway, there's nothing really to gain except for respect from the town, popularity, good records for college, maybe even a pro-scout." He shrugged again, indifferently as if all that popularity were nothing more than a gold star beside his name.

Sasori liked the sound of that—good records meant good college. If he got into a good college, he may be able to move away from his family. Not that he didn't love them or anything, but he felt a bit trapped around them because of the high expectations in which they held of him. That and the alcoholism that was so openly displayed. He didn't want to get caught up in that shit—he didn't want to become a mailman or a doctor with a drinking and gambling problem. He wanted to be something different, someone important.

Then again, all the popularity and fame would make their expectations even higher, especially if he got into college. And despite how white-collar some of his family members were, they were greedy with money and often blew their cash off at the casino or buying clothes they only wore once. His household was probably the only exception to that materialism, though.

Finally, Sasori shook his head. "Sorry man but I don't think so."

"Then why don't you do it for yourself," Madara suddenly asked, "we all know you love to skate. It's your passion; and you were one hell of a hockey player. We saw you on YouTube. Don't let the talent go to waste, bro."

The redhead ran a hand through his hair with a frustrated sigh. There's the stress again. The two continued trying to bait him, giving him dozens of reasons why he should join the team. He really wanted to, oh God he wanted to. But if he remembered correctly, that idiotic blonde that made his little sister cry was on the team. And Sasuke said that Madara and Hidan were assholess. Did he really want to put up with them on a nearly daily basis once school started?

_Yes, actually…_

Finally he let out a short laugh. "Alright I do it."

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—12 Noon Friday July 26, 2013—Yamanaka Residence, Rockaway**_

Ino loved days where she could just sit around and do nothing. She loved being able to wake up on her own time, take as long as she wanted to get out of bed and eat whatever she wanted from the fridge. God she loved it!

So you can imagine how happy she was when she woke up that afternoon and heard nothing but silence. That meant everyone was at work, leaving her the house all to herself. She slipped on a comfortable bra before leaving her room, not even bothering to fix her hair as it spilled out messily from the bun sitting lopsided atop her head. She quickly checked the rooms for anyone then looked for any cars in the driveway.

No one

She grinned and up the stairs to the third level and turned on the stereo in the living room. Her nose scrunched up in distaste when she heard one of Deidara's CD's inside so she quickly changed the mode to FM. After a moment of angrily searching for a station, she smiled when a song she liked came on.

"I guess this is the channel then," She mused and raised the volume. She began singing along and danced her way into the kitchen to make something to eat. _It's really nice outside today_, she mused, _maybe I should go out?_

She paused and thought about her food. What was she hungry for? What was easy to make right now? She checked the cabinets and found several boxes of pasta. It couldn't be too difficult to boil it right?

She began singing along with the song as she poured the noodles into a boiling pot of water. She swayed her hips and sang to her heart's content. For once in her life, Ino could be _Ino_. She was free to be stupid and flamboyant. Even though she never cared about people judging her, there were just some things you just don't do in public. Like dance and sing to _Dixie Chicks_ in nothing but a tiny pair of shorts and a tanktop. If she were dressed normally, _then _she'd have no problem doing it for the whole world to see.

Ino liked to call herself a "semi-self-conscious narcissist". She admitted to being very vain and loved herself all the same even when she had makeup running down her face and stuffed herself with junk food. She stopped feeling so self-conscious long ago because she realized just how beautiful she was. But there were times where she felt she was _too_ conceited or attracted too much attention. It was difficult to comprehend, even for her, but that was how she described herself.

A loud bell-like ring caught her ears so she quickly lowered the volume of the speakers to answer. On the other end, she heard a tentative voice saying 'hello'. A smile made its way onto Ino's face as she sauntered back into the kitchen to watch her cooking.

"Sakura, what's up?"She sat on the counter than and began playing with her fork.

"_Hey Ino I'm not bothering am I,"_ Sakura asked.

"Of course not Forehead," Ino assured with a light laugh. She went on stirring the noodles in her pot. "What's up? Is something wrong?"

She could imagine Sakura playing with her hair just like she use to—twirling a lock between her fingers, letting it uncoil, then doing it again. Sakura was such a quiet girl, but she knew she had potential. Naruto and Sasuke warmed up to her nicely and they told her that the girl had her violent tendencies worthy of Tayuya. She liked that. She wanted to see more of that.

Sakura gave a cough followed by an apology that Ino just ignored. _"I was wondering if you're working today."_ Ino arched a brow when she heard the pinkette struggling to find the words. It was as if she wanted to ask for one thing, but didn't want to say it. Ino urged her on with a slow 'no' while pouring milk into the boiling pot of noodles. _"Well I was wondering if you'd like to hang out today."_

Ino nearly spilled more milk than she meant to because she was too engrossed in smiling. _That girl reminds me of Hinata,_ she thought. "Sure," She finally said, "You can come over to my house. No one is home. I live on 466 Rockaway; if you take the 110 bus, it stops right in front of my house."

"_Okay thanks Ino!"_

The blonde laughed at her, a bubbly laugh that began from the pit of her belly. "Of course Sak. We have a game tonight, so you'll ride with Kiba and me."

"_Okay. I'll be there soon!"_

"Great. I'll make us something."

When Ino hung up the phone, she nearly jumped for joy and ran back to the cabinet to grab another box of that pasta. "I better make two!"

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—2:12 PM Friday June 26, 2013—Boomers, the Boardwalk**_

"Thank you, come again!"

Deidara ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. He didn't know why but he felt extremely over the edge today, excited even. After spending the past several days out at the beach and the arcade and spending one day back on the ice, the ending of his shift was more than welcome. But as excited as he was about the end of his shift, he wasn't exactly excited about what he was doing afterwards today.

Today he was supposed to go out with his girlfriend to get something to eat at Hidan's restaurant, watch some cheesy romantic-comedy then maybe shag up in his truck. Usually, he wouldn't mind putting up with all of that for the ending. But today he just didn't feel up to it.

After Tobi's birthday party, he and Aya and gotten into a fight about how obsessive she was about him and what he did. She was so territorial about him sometimes that it just drove him crazy! He loved her, he honestly did. He loved her aggression and her strength—hell that's the reason he started dating her. But she's been all over the place. One moment, she's the wild, adventurous Tinker Bellicose that he just wanted to jump there on the spot, and other times she's the psycho girlfriend who was yelling at him about anything and everything. They fought all the time now, too. She thought he wasn't spending enough time with her, he thought she was selfish and all that bullshit. Hell, they never had sex anymore, either! They were like moths to a flame—physically attracted. But he still had feelings for her…

They'd broken up and gotten back together five or six times now, and sometimes he wondered why. He knew the relationship wasn't going to work and he was sure she knew that too. But they just kept getting back together. He noticed that the same happened with Itachi and Yukie—they didn't go out on dates anymore. They just went out together to meet up with friends. Konan was around Pein almost 24/7 and while Ami shyly crushed on Hidan from the background. The other girls, Ayame and Karin, weren't very close to the group as they really only knew them for being friends with Konan, Ami, Matsuri and Aya but when they were around, they flirted aggressively with all of them.

The bell overhead twinkled loudly, shaking him from his thoughts and he plastered a smile to his face. That smile fell (along with his mood), however, when he spotted the dark haired Uchiha brothers Izuna and Itachi. Izuna didn't spend that much time with them as he worked a lot and was constantly studying, but ever since mid-junior year he's been hanging out with them more and more. He wasn't too much like Itachi, thankfully, but all Uchihas were pretty much the same. Well, except for Tobi.

"I'd say welcome but you're obviously not, yeah."

Itachi rolled his eyes and leaned against the counter while Izuna texted someone on his phone. "Cute," he said sarcastically, "we just came by to ask if you're going to meet up with us at the arcade after work."

Deidara let out a breath and began scratching the back of his head. He did that when he was frustrated, guilty or embarrassed about something, but the two new arrivals assumed it was frustrated this time around. "I can't," he said, "I told Aya I'd take her out tonight."

Izuna arched a brow, "I thought you guys broke up after Tobi's party?"

"So did I," Deidara muttered, "We got back together, yeah, and I agreed to take her out to make it up to her."

Itachi stared at him with an arched eye brow. "I don't see how you put up with her."

"I don't see how you put up with that block of ice of a girlfriend," Deidara shot back.

The older Uchiha shrugged in response. "I don't either." He looked at Izuna with a serious expression. "Never date a Derby Girl. And if you do, don't hang out with other Derby Girls or other girls in general if you want to keep your balls."

Deidara and Izuna laughed then while Itachi let the smirk creep back up onto his face. As much as Deidara hated Itachi, he just couldn't help but think of him as one of his best friends out of the group. Of course, no one could take Tobi's place as his best mate, but still.

"Come on Deidara," Izuna pleaded, "just reschedule the date for another time. Madara's coming by with the new guy today. He apparently accepted to join the hockey team."

As much as Deidara was upset about the busted lip he still sported, he respected the redhead. Not only did he take on two guys (and maybe even more if Itachi, Madara and Kisame had stepped in) in a fight, but he did it for his sister. That and that was a pretty good hit.

"Man if I call her and cancel," Deidara trailed off. They already knew what he meant; he meant to say _"if I call her and cancel, we're all going to get hell."_ But this was an important event so he kind of needed to be there, right? Surely she'd understand.

_This is Aya we're talking about…of course she won't, yeah._

He finally sighed, "Alright. But if I'm going down, I'm taking you guys with me!"

"We'll be sure to send the funeral invitations."

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—12:09 Friday 26, 2013—Terramonte Mall**_

_Bus 110_

_North Konoha Bart—11:01 AM—11:21 AM—11:41 AM—12:01 PM_

_Brunswick & Templeton—11:10 AM—11:30 AM—11:50—12:10 PM_

_Aquarius & Den—11:15 AM—11:35—11:55 AM—12:15 PM_

_**Terramonte Mall—11:26 AM—11:46—12:06 N—12:26 PM**_

_Southgate & Westridge—11:30 AM—11:50 AM—12:10 PM—12:30 PM_

_Boardwalk & Ocean—11: 34 AM—11:54 AM—12:14 PM—12:34 PM_

_Rockaway—11:38 AM—11:58 AM—12:18 PM—12:38 PM_

Sakura gently bit down on her pale pink lips. Her eyes were quickly scanning over the bus timetables. She had just missed the 12:06 bus, so she had to wait for the next bus. Luckily, the 110 came every twenty minutes so the wait wouldn't be long. She was glad she only lived right up the hill or else she'd be even later than she wanted.

"I guess I'll the 12:26 it is," she muttered while glancing at the clock on her phone. A heavy sigh escaped her lips when she realized that was about twenty minutes until the bus got there. It was too hot to be outside, but she didn't want to risk being late by going inside.

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Okay maybe five minutes inside won't hurt."

She crossed the street from the bus stop island and pulled open the glass doors of the mall, smiling softly when the air conditioning cooled her skin almost instantly. She was never one to tolerate too much heat. Back in Suna, she use to feel so overheated that she'd literally lay on the floor with two fans on either side of her face. She had no idea how Sasori ever managed to play soccer and hockey and skate in those horrible conditions! He'd come home sweating like a cow with his hair sticking against his forehead and neck in thick rivulets of red, his skin slick and pink and his clothes sticking to his chest. Yet, he always seemed content.

Once she'd taken several steps in, she searched for a good place to get a cold drink or maybe even an ice cream. From what she remembered, the Dairy Queen and the Leaflet Yogurt were in the food court on the other side of the court, and the McDonald's she was standing next to was packed. There was no way she'd be able to make it to the bus in time if she waited in line at either.

A few girls walked by carrying _Starbucks_ cups of frappuccino, and she hesitantly walked over to them. "Excuse me," she started, "is Starbucks full?"

One of the girls shook her head, "A little bit, but they have all the good baristas there today so they're pretty fast. We got our drinks in about…five minutes maybe?"

Sakura smiled softly and nearly let out a breath of relief. "Okay thank you." She waved goodbye to the girls and hurried to the shop that was just around the corner from the block of stores to see that there was a fair amount of people waiting around and four baristas.

_Not too bad,_ she thought as she pushed her way through. The room was warm from the coffee being made, which was probably why there weren't that many people inside today. It was both good and bad really, because she ended up having to wait in the non-air-conditioned room and sweat even more.

"Next in line!"

She snapped out of her thoughts and pushed past the two police officers who were at the first register and stopped at the second. "Hello what can I get for you?"

She looked over at the menu one last time and said, "One grande Mocha Cookie Crumble please."

She glanced at the barista and nearly jumped in surprise. There was that boy from the warehouse, the one with the long, raven hair with red highlights. He was too busy writing the order on a cup to notice her, but when he did, he blinked in shock. He looked so much like Sasuke that it surprised her when he looked at her.

He recognized her, she knew he did. But he didn't say anything about it, just asked for her name to write it on the cup. "It'll be ready in a moment."

She thanked him and scurried off to sit at one of the empty seats beside the window. It's been five minutes now, so she had twelve minutes to get her drink and get back to the bus stop. She really hoped that guy hurried…

She pulled out her phone and texted Ino that'd she'll be there around 12:40 then went on replying to some of Naruto's text messages. He wanted to hang out today before the game with Sasuke and Hinata, but she declined and told him about her day with Ino. Naruto was apparently really excited and went on and on about how she'd finally get to meet the rest of their friends.

_You'll love them!_

_Gaara and Kankuro are some of the coolest guys you'll ever meet. Besides me, of course!_

_One time Sasuke, Neji and I tried skating off a roof and Sasuke broke his collarbone. It was hilarious!_

She smiled softly. Naruto and Sasuke had become very important in her life. So had Ino, Hinata, Kiba, Sakon, Ukon and Kimimaro. She had never felt so close and connected to a group like she felt with them. They accepted her almost instantly and acted as if she'd been their friends since the beginning of time. They didn't judge her or say anything about her weird habits. They encouraged her to do whatever she wanted, pushed her to do something stupid and to just laugh off the embarrassment. She saw them as everything she ever wanted in friends, like those friends you'd find on a 90's _Disney_ movie. They were the textbook definition of "rebellious".

"Sakura your drink is ready."

Her head snapped away from the phone and instead turned towards the teen in front of her. It was the barista, sitting in front of her. Her drink sat in the center of the table—deep chocolate color with tan whipped cream and dots of Oreo cookie pieces scattered about. A dollop of whipped cream puckered out from the top of the container with cookie crumbs falling off. She searched her brain for the name of the boy; Sasuke had said he had four brothers—all quadruplets. He must've been one of them judging by the way he looked.

She gave a weary smile and thanked him then moved to get up when he stopped her. "Look about that thing at the warehouse last week," he started, "No hard feelings."

_No hard feelings_, she repeated in her mind. Of course there are hard feelings. There's many feelings actually! Anger, embarrassment, horror…she was livid! He was there when Deidara dumped his meal on her, he was there when Pein pushed Sasori into a fight…he was one of _their_ friends.

She stood up with her drink in hand and walked on past him. She didn't say anything to him, just pretended he never even existed. But that didn't stop him from trying to grab her. "Come on don't be like that. Learn to laugh it off."

"I did laugh it off," She replied, "now let go. I need to catch my bus."

He laughed at her, and she was able to catch a glimpse at his dark red braces before he released her. "Alright I see how it is. You think you're above me—above us. You look at me and you see my tattoos and my piercings. Well let me tell you, Sakura, I don't care. That's the problem with you; you're stuck in a boring cycle and you want an alternative, you want something more. You're holding a grudge because Deidara made you cry." His eyes sharpened and his lips pulled into a thin line. "Here's some advice; don't hold a grudge, but don't let it go, don't accept it. If you're serious about wanting something more in life than your boring ass routine, go all out. Don't care about people staring, don't think about how perfect or not perfect something is. Don't plan, just do. I'm telling you this because Sasori's my friend now and I feel bad that Deidara had to be an idiot and start a fight because Sasori is exactly the same."

Her glare never wavered, but her arm went slack in his hold. She had no idea what he was talking about, how he knew what she felt. It was as if he could see right through her or something. She didn't know what to say to him, and she felt so much anger towards him. Yet, the admiration for his blatant rebellious attitude was still there. He was right, totally and completely on the dot about her. She didn't want to be the same, boring, obedient girl she's always been. All that's ever done was keep her away from life. She wanted a more adolescent lifestyle and be known for her own accomplishments…that's why she started changing in the first place isn't it?

"I gotta catch the bus," She finally said in a quiet, almost defeated voice.

Madara released her. "Yeah, you better catch that bus." She stood there, looking deeply into his dark eyes. He looked so damn arrogant, but sincere at the same time. His lips parted, revealing the red braces he wore.

"Don't miss that bus. You're missing a lot of things in life. So you better not miss that bus."

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—12:40 PM Friday July 26, 2013—Yamanaka Residence, Rockaway**_

Ino was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard the doorbell ring. She set down her cup and hurried down the three flights of stairs to get to the door. When she opened it, she enveloped Sakura in a hug and pulled her inside.

"Sorry I took so long," Sakura apologized while looking around the space around her. The walkway was very small with shoes along the right side of the wall while the left wall had a door that led to the garage; a set of stairs was at the end of the walkway.

Ino laughed and blew it out with a casual "no biggie" and led her up the stairs. When they reached the top, she noticed that the second floor branched off into two separate sections that circled the staircase. The wall against the staircase was a shelf of books from top to bottom, and the rooms circled the outside walls.

"Here are all the bedrooms," Ino said while heading towards the next set of stairs. "We'll go to my room in a little while; I've made some food upstairs."

Sakura slowly followed her up the stairs, extremely baffled by the beauty of her house. It was three stories tall with two balconies on the second and third level and a soft yellow color that reminded Sakura of a pale sunflower, with sharp white trimmings. The front yard was nothing more than a small patch of green that traced the edge of the house (it was a corner house at the bottom of a gradual hill) and large concrete driveway.

When the girls reached the top of the stairs, Sakura gaped in awe at the house. To the right of the stairs were a bathroom and a closed off hallway; to the left were the living room, dining room and kitchen. The living room was long and "L" shaped with two sliding glass doors in the back left corner leading to the deck that made up the void while a dining table sat in the far back of the room. An archway against the wall opposite of the stairs led to the kitchen.

"Ino your house is beautiful," Sakura gasped, eyes roaming the room around her. The entire house was filled with natural light that spilled though the many windows with paintings and modern shelves on the walls and dark hardwood floors. You would think it would be a normal house with the way it looked outside. It was like stepping into a magazine on the inside!

Ino just waved her hand with a smug grin. "I know."

She took Sakura into the kitchen which smelled deliciously of pasta. "Nice house and delicious food," Sakura teased, "You sound like the perfect wife."

Ino laughed and handed Sakura two dark green plates. "That's not the first time I've heard that. There's some garlic bread in the oven. Go ahead and take as much as you want. Fill my plate too? I'll get the drinks."

Sakura began piling the noodles onto the two plates, making them both as even as possible. The noodles were a nice golden color with specks of green herbs sprinkled over, and were surrounded in pale white sauce. Once both plates were filled and utensils were balanced on top, Ino brought her back downstairs and into her room. Just like the living room, it looked like it belonged in a magazine. The walls were a rich purple color with dozens of pictures, magazine cut-outs and posters decorating the walls. On the left side of the room was her bed which you had to use a ladder to climb on to. The bottom of the bed was all drawers and cabinets, and the very left corner was a book shelf. Another shelf rested right above the mattress. On the wall opposite of the door sat another bed that looked like a sofa with drawers beneath it, and a large window above it. The third and final wall held her television.

"Have you been told I'm jealous of your room too," Sakura asked.

"Hmm…yup; now stop gawking and let's eat!"

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—3 PM Friday June 26, 2013—Akatsuki Arcade, Ocean Avenue**_

Madara glanced at the redhead beside him. Sasori looked so incredibly calm all the time that it almost made _him_ mad. How one person could be so indifferent and apathetic all the time was beyond him. Then again, when he met up with Sasori at his house, the redhead was smoking a bowl in the backyard so that could explain his constant lethargy.

They stopped in front of the arcade he and his friends frequented. The storefront's two windows read "AKATSUKI ARCADE" in thick red letters. He could see some of his friends already, talking and eating while others were off playing something. Madara held the door open for his newest friend and watched the way Kakuzu and Zetsu eyed him. Despite meeting the redhead before, Hidan had kept up the stink eye he gave everyone who entered the arcade and leaned casually against the _Pacman_ game he was previously playing.

"What's up Peter Pan," Kakuzu finally greeted with a sly smirk. Zetsu, who was playing with a pinball game turned to look at the new kid with a wary eye. Sasori gave him a strong nod of his head without wavering his gaze, almost as if telling the green haired teen that he was here to stay.

"Who else is here," Madara asked as he gave a casual pound-hug to both guys. Zetsu pointed behind him with a jerk of his thumb and told him where to find Izuna, Itachi and Deidara. Madara thanked him and led Sasori deeper into the dark arcade.

_You would think the windows would give the room some light,_ Sasori thought to himself. And it was true. The windows at the front of the store were large, but the only part of the room that was illuminated were right in front of the windows. The rest of the room was cloaked in darkness with electric blue and neon purple lights lining the walls with the lights of the arcade games flickering with a change of scene. Sasori saw all kinds of games-old school and new school—lined around the large arcade; first person shooters, racers, pinball and fighting games. The many lights were blindingly bright sometimes, and a lot of games were uncomfortably loud. Not to mention, the room was a bit too warm to his liking.

"Well would you look at what we've got here!"

Sasori pulled his eyes away from a game he'd been eyeing and found himself in front of Deidara and Itachi who were focused on a first person shooter while another boy that looked like Madara watched. He didn't know who had spoken, but he assumed it was the blonde.

"What's up," Deidara asked, glancing away from the screen for just a second so he could look Sasori in the eye.

"Not much," Sasori replied. He could see the faint remnants of the wound he'd inflicted on him a while ago which nearly made him smirk.

Itachi didn't even bother tearing his eyes away from the screen when he talked to him now. Sasori just listened to them chatting, instead thinking about calling his sister to make sure she was alright. He hadn't heard from her since she left and wanted to make sure she was at Ino's house safely. He hadn't even told her she was going out.

"Hey Sasori, take over."

Itachi handed the red plastic gun to Sasori who quickly took his spot beside Deidara. They were quiet at first, both trying to figure out what they could possibly say to each other, but reluctantly, Deidara asked Sasori about how his sister was doing. "I feel bad about what I did, yeah," he had added with a somewhat unconvincing voice. "I didn't mean to make her cry. It's just, you know, heat of the moment."

Despite how angry he was before, Sasori just brushed it off. He actually thought the incident was hilarious, but wanted to be there for his sister and make her feel better. Honestly, the redhead wasn't sure if he was still pissed off or if he wanted to pat the guy on the back and tell him "good job man". So instead he said, "Its fine. She's over it. I think that busted lip is more than enough payback."

"Che, I let you have that," Deidara said.

Sasori arched a brow with an amused smirk. "Yeah right; I highly doubt that." He pushed the red gun down then brought it back to the screen to reload his ammo. "You barely managed to land a hit on me, kid."

Deidara snorted, "Please; I told you I let you have that, yeah."

"Whatever you say," Sasori snorted. He knew that was a total lie. The blonde was just too damn proud to admit that he screwed up. He spent a good amount of time playing that same game with Deidara. The two had went off on a conversation about some good spots in town and some stupid stories with the guys in the group. They'd actually forgotten about the Uchiha's surrounding them.

"Sasori," Deidara suddenly called, "Like I said about your sister. I didn't mean to do that." Sasori stayed quiet and listened to Deidara's apology. Itachi, Madara and Izuna did, too, with a stunned silence overcoming them. Deidara wasn't the kind of guy to apologize for his actions unless it legitimately made him feel bad or ate him up inside. And even then, it was still rare. "Her friends—my sister and I don't get along, yeah. It's a long story. But uh…no hard feelings?"

Sasori was silent. He was still conflicted with the blonde's confession and apology and his feelings for the guy. He'd hurt his sister, made her cry. But in a rather ridiculous way that was actually very funny. As an older brother, he was mad. As a teammate and friend, he wasn't. Deidara had been an asshole when he dragged Tobi away from Ino's group when they went out ice skating a week ago, referring to them as "_them_" and glaring. But if he was being truthful about it being a sibling rivalry gone awry, then he had to be more open to the situation and hope things would eventually work out.

He wasn't sure how Sakura would take it, discovering that the blonde was his friend now. She'd been acting different lately; she was asking to borrow his iPod and asking for some of his songs and spending a lot of time talking to Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke and their cousins. She held herself much more…strongly. He saw it in the way she walked. She was doing something different and it captured his interest because Sakura was always so _routine_ and _repetitive_.

_She's trying to change…_he realized. That explained the stretchers and the industrials that gleamed brightly in her ears. A smile slowly formed on his face at the thought of his sister. She deserved happiness even more than he did. So he only hoped that she'd accept his decision and found that happiness.

"No hard feelings," Sasori finally said, "But first you need to apologize to my sister."

**Author's Note**

**Sorry about taking so long to update. I was supposed to update my other story The Making of Legends: Bishamon's Warrior, but I'm stuck! So I wrote this chapter instead! So after this chapter, we'll start seeing more DeiSaku because Sasori and Deidara have solidified their friendship…somewhat; especially since Deidara is being forced to apologize to Sakura.**

**So please review?**


	12. Beautiful

**Summary:**_ Sakura's life was boring. She wanted something more. When her cousins take her to a roller derby game, she definitely gets more. She starts a fight, gets cheesed by a guy on the hockey team, meets new friends and decides it's time for a little makeover. Surfers, derby girls, hockey players and bitter rivals—what more can you ask for? "Goodbye Haruno Sakura, hello Pinky Bruiser!"_

_**Author's Note: So I noticed that I accidentally wrote "June 26" last chapter instead of "July 26" for the dates of each character's perspective switch…I'll go back and fix that when I can. Also, when my internet is back up, I'll post all those links (they're all saved in a document) along with Sakura's makeup for this chapter as well. So be patient please...**_

**EDIT: IMPORTANT Author's Note (AIKO)**

**This note is so important, I wrote it twice. Once here and once at the bottom, so PLEASE read it.**

So Amaya sent me this chapter and I edited it for her, but there's something I need to add that's very important. Amaya will probably kill me  
for telling you guys this but this chapter was very emotional for Amaya when she wrote it, especially the beginning about Sakura's birth mom. It's a bit personal for the two of us  
so I'm surprised she actually wrote this. Now feel free to tell Amaya I wrote this note (she'll find out eventually) but you guys should know that Amaya had actually cried  
as she wrote the beginning. The beginning was inspired by a sudden epiphany she had when she found our mom's old poetry book and read through it. She used her own personal memories for Sakura's POV, so it really impacted her. Same with Sakura's scars from her abuse; those scars are  
modeled after Amaya's scars. Those of you readers who had been reading our stories since 2009 (we know who you are), probably remember that Amaya spent several months in a hospital recovering from an abusive relationship which was why she stopped writing for 7 months. As you can imagine, she was pretty emotionally affected by just writing this. So I really do hope she gets some reviews for this chapter because she almost deleted it.

So can we get some good reviews to let her know how happy we are and how much we appreciate her?

_**UPDATED/EDITED: June 14, 2013**_

**Chapter Twelve:**

**Beautiful**

_**Sakura's POV**_

When I was younger, I had a hard time adjusting to my step-mother. I had a hard time understanding why my birth mother left in general. It was just something I couldn't comprehend at that age, and even now I have a hard time accepting it. I was only three years old when she left my dad, my brothers and me. We were living in a small apartment in San Francisco at the time, and one day she just…left. It was seven o' clock at night on a day I don't remember. I don't recall what I did, what I ate or when I noticed she was gone. It seemed like she just went to work and never came home. I spent a long time sitting in front of the door, waiting for her to walk in, smile at me and engulf me in a warm hug while Shin and Ren ran in from the other room, accusing each other for something they broke. Then she'd scold them, hug them, and apologize for being late and tuck us into our beds while leaving the _Care Bears Movie _on so I could fall asleep.

She never came.

Of course, being a toddler, I didn't understand. My dad kept telling me she'd come back soon, that she was visiting some family or working late just so I'd go to sleep. I'd stay up late with Ren, waiting to surprise her when she walked in. I woke up early hoping to catch a glimpse of her before she left. But she was never home to start with. I felt so lost, so hurt and lonely but I didn't understand why. I remember sleeping on the floor in front of the door with Shin, wrapped up in the blanket she made me—my _baba_.—and the teddy bear my cousin gave me. I even spent my days perched at the window, waiting to see her black Honda pull up to the garage while my brothers were at kindergarten and elementary. But she never came back.

We didn't hear from her for nearly three years.

We moved to Suna and Sasori's mother, Nika, had entered our lives by then and I had found it so incredibly difficult to trust her. I was worried she'd leave us too, leave my dad—hurt him. I was the textbook definition of "Daddy's Girl". When he looked upset, my chest would compress and the tears would automatically flow; when he and my uncle Miku got into a fight, I'd run to him and cling to his leg while crying for them to stop; when he left for work I waited at the window just like I did for my mom. So when Nika came into the picture, I felt so uneasy and doubtful to accept her. It took a while before I trusted her, and when I did my birth mom finally decided to re-enter my life. She had called us; she got our number from one of her sisters that still babysat me and she said she wanted to see me. I've never been so excited or happy in my short life! I dressed in my nicest outfit—blue denim overall shorts with a pink shirt beneath and a pair of pink flip flops. I even had my aunt Andi pull my hair in pigtails just to look beautiful for her.

She was beautiful. So incredibly beautiful with short blond hair that made me think of summer and beach sand, and her eyes were green like the grass beneath my feet. I remember running into her arms, crying that I missed her and asking why she never came home but she just cried and held me for a long time. She took me to some street that had too many stores to count but I remember the souvenir shop very clearly. It was big and open-spaced with old wooden floorboards that creaked with each step. There were bike license plates with names on them and teddy bears and snow globes all over the place, but we revolved around a rack of necklaces. She wanted something special so she secretly took apart multiple necklaces to take the cube-shaped beads with letters on them and strung them along a black necklace that said "Mibu & Saku". The man didn't notice when she paid for it.

After that, she brought me to a _Denny's_ across the street from the beach and she bought me a kid's pizza, sliced it up into eight pieces and ordered me an orange juice while she got a Grand Slam with extra crispy hash browns and a diet _Pepsi_, just like she always did. She told me she loved me and that she was sorry for leaving, but that I'd understand one day. I didn't understand, but I didn't want to ask anymore.

When she brought me to her house in Konoha for the weekend, I felt so complete. She had finally come back to me, and she would come back to daddy and Ren and Shin and meet Sasori and fix everything. But when her husband came home, I knew it wouldn't be true. They told me that Ren, Shin and I would be staying with them every weekend and vacation, so we could be a family again. But it just didn't feel right; I didn't feel that connection with either my mom or Aaron. For a few years, flying back and forth from far north Konoha to Suna became a long, boring routine. By Friday afternoon, she and Aaron were waiting in front of our house with a weekend's worth of clothes. I was getting use to it and had found myself forgetting about the confusion and felt happy. She told me to give Nika a chance, to be happy to have two mommies and two daddies, and for a while I did. I felt so damn special that it didn't even bother me. Then for a long time, she suddenly stopped picking us up.

Ren, Shin and I were waiting outside for at least an hour with our bags waiting. Sasori was supposed to come with us, too, so he was impatiently sitting on the bench in front of our new home with the most adorable pout I'd ever seen on his face. She never came, never called. For two years, we heard _nothing_. Her sisters and mother also vanished. Every birthday went unremembered, every Christmas empty. For mother's day, I made a gift for Nika and Grandma Chiyo who had moved to Konoha. I was hurt—all of us were. It was as if they'd forgotten all about us. But I didn't stay mad, I couldn't. I remember the day she came back. I heard someone knocking on the door, and obediently asked who was there.

"It's mommy," she had said. I didn't believe her, but was so much in shock I just swung the door open. But what I saw made my blood run cold.

I met my baby brother, Kyu-Bok.

I was so confused, so angry and so incredibly hurt. I felt so betrayed that I didn't want to spend another minute there. I threw a tantrum, not even caring that I made the baby cry and demanded she leave. And subsequently, she did with the most broken-hearted expression I had ever seen on her face. I cried myself to sleep on the couch that night in the comfort of a fort my brothers helped me make. I felt like she replaced me, or that I wasn't good enough for her. I wasn't good enough to be her daughter. She'd left me and my family to start a new family and she had the nerve to come see us with her baby—with _Aaron's_ baby. I felt so uncomfortable now that I knew of my brother, just like the rest of my family. My dad's side of the family immediately began expressing just how much they despised my mom. They use to talk about how irresponsible and stupid she was for getting pregnant at fifteen, and they'd talk about how she was a liar and a thief and how she was a bad mother. It hurt to listen, but I didn't want to think about her so I ignored it.

She never picked us up anymore.

My anger towards her grew. When I started having social problems, when I started getting bullied and when I started getting abused by Kei I _blamed_ her. I use to tell myself: if she hadn't left, we wouldn't have moved to Suna where those mean girls were. I would've never met Kei or Haruko nor had my heart broken. I would've never lost my friends and been so betrayed. I would've never felt so…insignificant. I saw myself as a failure and I absolutely _hated_ her with every fiber of my body. For a little less than ten years, we hadn't heard from her. One of her sisters was still very frequent and avid in our lives and tried getting us to talk to her but none of us wanted to. I felt that sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach every time I thought about her. The pictures I once proudly showed off had been tossed into a photo album and dumped in a box, the blanket she made me went in there too. When people mentioned their mothers, I felt so sick and envious and hostile. Then I read this book she had left behind.

It was a poetry book she wrote—a diary almost. I was so engrossed by the notebook that I didn't put it down for days until I finally finished reading every poem. They were dated back to 1997, the year she left. She wrote about love and romance, talking about how her heart longed for someone, but she couldn't because of her duty. And it hit me then—she was in love with someone else and only stayed around because of me. She was trapped in a relationship she didn't want anymore. Aaron, her husband, my step-dad, had been her secret lover for _months_ when she was with my dad. She loved my dad once, but loved Aaron more. And she ultimately chose to be with him.

I blamed myself for her leaving, for her unhappiness. I felt like I was a horrible, ugly child and that was why she suddenly left us and started a family. I felt so sick and heartbroken and confused that I wasn't sure if I wanted to scream and cry or go to sleep. But I called her that night, and she admitted to everything—the affair, the confused feelings, and the heartbreak…everything…She was hurting too, she said. She cried for hours on the phone, telling me everything that had happened.

"I loved your dad more than anything," she sobbed, "I _still _love your dad and I loved you even more than him. But when I had you I was only fifteen, Sakura. I was scared; I had no idea what I was doing and I just couldn't handle it. I made a stupid decision to leave and I am so sorry."

I was mad for a long time after, but I understood. I understood the confusion that came with love and being a teenager. I understood her pain. And even though she lived across the country, we'd rebuilt our relationship and I called her every night just to tell her I loved her. My brothers and stepbrother all supported me throughout this, and they too, found comfort in her. She was our mother—she _is_ our mother. We can't just forget about her.

In fact, I still remember her scent. She smelled of cigarettes and grapefruit.

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—3:42 PM Friday July 26, 2013—Yamanaka Residence, Rockaway**_

Ino glanced over at Sakura warily. The pinkette was just sitting there, staring at the TV—not watching but _staring_. She looked conflicted, sad almost, and she wondered why she was so down all of a sudden. The two had such a great time just a few moments ago, watching _Mean Girls_ now and sharing a bowl of chips without a care in the world. "Is something wrong," She finally asked.

Sakura just shook her head, but Ino was not convinced. But she didn't want to pry Sakura for information if it was a touchy subject. Ino paused the movie and turned to fully face Sakura; she set a warm hand on the girl's knee and let her brows tilt upwards in worry. "Sak, you can tell me anything. I'm your friend now, so don't be afraid of asking me for _anything_, okay?"

"Thanks Ino," Sakura whispered with a sad smile. Ino gave her a reassuring smile and resumed the movie.

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Hey Ino?"

Ino glanced over at Sakura with a raised eyebrow, "Yeah?"

The pinkette blushed slightly and looked down at her lap. She was shy, embarrassed even. "Thank you for everything."

Ino smiled and hugged Sakura. "Of course, Forehead. Hey, when the movie's over how about I do your hair and makeup for tonight?"

"I'd like that."

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—3:15 PM July 26, 2013—Paradise Restaurant, Ocean Avenue**_

He set down the plate of food and offered a tired smile to the Chinese couple that was sitting at the table. They thanked him with small smiles and bows of the head before beginning to eat. The food's delicious aroma just wafted towards him and his stomach growled hungrily. Grunting, he returned to the kitchen with one detour to a bidding table that asked for a check.

"I'm clocking out now," Hidan called through the kitchen. "Table four needs their check."

When his manager waved him off, Hidan quickly pulled off his apron and rolled up the sleeves of his black button-up. Without waiting for a goodbye or last minute conversation, he hurried on outside. When he got outside, he pulled out a cigarette and lit it after fumbling with the match. He breathed in; the nicotine filled his lungs and he exhaled after one blissful minute. The smoke swirled and clouded in front of him in a gray eddy of breath. His left hand reached for the eyelets in his ear and he brushed over them carefully, gently prodding at his stretched ear. The gentle wind slipped some of his white-blonde hair out of its hold so a few wayward strands brushed his cheeks and forehead in a way that tickled his skin.

This was nice.

He dug through his pocket to grab his earbuds when someone called his name. When he turned his head, he froze when he saw the man leaning against a deep red 1965 convertible. The man was about as tall as Hidan with dirty blonde hair brushed back, dark red eyes, tanned skin and a dark 5 o' clock shadow. Hidan scowled and walked over.

"What the fuck do you want," he asked when he was close enough. The man put a hand on Hidan's shoulder but the teen shrugged his hand away from him. "Don't touch me."

The man snorted at his reaction but acted as if it never happened and turned around to get into his car. "Get in the car." When he sat down and noticed that Hidan was still glaring at him, his brows furrowed and his lips pulled into a thin line. "Get the fuck in the car Hidan. And get that cigarette out of your mouth."

"Where are we going?"

"Out now let's go." Hidan tossed his cigarette to the ground and climbed into the car, sure to slam the door harder than necessary and just leaned back while they drove off. They were quiet for a while, the only sounds between them being the engine's purr, the wind blowing over head and the radio playing some song Hidan didn't recognize. The boy was frustrated—_extremely _frustrated. His fingers were drumming over his thighs and his leg was tapping out of time with the music. The man glanced over at Hidan for just a second before returning his gaze to the street. "How've you been?"

"What does it matter to you," Hidan asked begrudgingly. When the man glared at him, Hidan rolled his bright magenta eyes. "I'm fine." It was obvious they weren't really going anywhere, just driving around in circles around Ocean Avenue until whatever he wanted to say was said and the conversation was over.

"And Kakuzu?"

"Fine."

The silence continued, and Hidan nearly slammed his face into the dashboard out of pure annoyance. "Why the hell are you here? Don't you have better things to do like find a stripper to screw behind my mother's back?"

"Watch your mouth when you talk to me, boy," the man seethed while glaring at him. "You show your father some respect."

Hidan laughed at that and leaned back against the leather seats with his arms crossed. "I don't respect someone who doesn't respect me. Now why the fuck are you here? What, you want some money or something? Because if you do I don't have anything."

"You work don't you?"

"Yeah but I pay bills—I pay rent unlike you," Hidan snapped angrily. He hated his father so much. He was never there for him or his mom when he lived with them back in Oakland. He always smacked his mother around and spent his days at the strip club instead of working. He never helped them. He never paid the bills or bought them gifts for Christmas. Instead he was out sleeping around or drinking himself to sleep in a gutter leaving his mom to do all the work and struggle to get by. "What gives you the right to come here after everything you've done and ask me for shit?"

Hidan's father quickly reached over and smacked Hidan across the back of his head. Hidan let out a pained gasp when he felt his father's gold class ring making contact with his skull, the injection of a terrible headache to come. "I'm your dad, that's what you little shit."

"My dad," Hidan repeated with an amused snort, "last I checked a dad takes care of his family, not beat them. You always come around asking me for money. I'm not giving you anything." The car stopped abruptly in a parking lot making Hidan nearly hit the dashboard. His father turned to face him with red eyes flaming with anger.

"Now listen you little shit," he snarled while clutching the collar of Hidan's black button up. "I'm your dad whether you like it or not and you're going to listen to me! You got that? I just need five hundred and that's it—you'll get your money back in two weeks."

"Five hundred," Hidan exclaimed, "What do I look like, a bank?"

"I know Kakuzu has money," his dad continued, "just get it from him. Tell him you'll pay him back. I need this money; your mom and I can't make this month's rent and we might get evicted this time." Hidan pried his dad's fingers off of his shirt and climbed out.

"I'm not taking money from my brother."

"Kakuzu isn't your brother; he's just a half-breed that married into the family."

"He's more of a brother to me than you were a father!" Hidan slammed the door shut in total anger. "You know what fuck you. Kakuzu is _my_ brother, _my _family! He and aunty Nibi have done more for me than you ever could. I'm just pissed off that I can't take my mom away from you. Don't come back, don't ask for money. If you come back, you're going to need more than money for some 99 cent hooker hiding in your car. And you know what; don't ever disrespect my mother, or Kakuzu or aunt Nibi again you piece of shit."

His father screamed after him, cursing him, but Hidan ignored him. He kept walking, unbuttoning his black shirt as he did so until he arrived at the arcade a few blocks away. The walk was about twenty minutes and he was sure his dad had followed him, but he didn't see him. But that was what made him so scared of his dad—you never knew anything he was doing until he was directly in front of you, preparing to slam his fist into your stomach. A sick feeling fell over his stomach at the feeling; he wanted to throw up and break something. He didn't want to be like that, like his father. He didn't want to be some alcoholic that beat up his wife or end up a compulsive gambler but he just couldn't stop drinking and smoking. It scared him because he knew he'd be just like him.

"Hidan…"

Kakuzu pushed his body away from the game he was leaning against and walked towards him, leaving Zetsu and Kisame behind. Hidan didn't say anything to him and the two cousins pulled each other into a tight embrace. It was moments like these that made Kakuzu and Hidan that much closer. They didn't let go, speak or acknowledge the other two teens behind them—just hug.

Hidan didn't know when he had started crying and frankly he didn't care.

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—2:57 PM July 26, 2013—Fuuma Residence, Chrysanthemum Drive**_

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about Konan!" Pein was livid. Konan just crossed her arms and glared at Pein with as much hatred and anger she could muster at the moment. Pein was holding her cellphone in his hand, waving it around while a picture of some chump in a cheap beanie showing off his sad excuse for abs, and a flirty text blinked on the screen. "What the fuck is this?"

Konan reached for the phone but Pein pulled it away. "Give it to me!"

"Are you cheating on me _again_?"

Konan looked insulted at the accusation and slapped Pein roughly in the cheek. She huffed angrily. Pein had a look of hurt on his face as he brought his hand to his cheek. She stepped away from him with watery eyes. He didn't want to look at her. His stomach churned painfully when the realization of his words smacked him just as hard as Konan had if not harder. He felt terrible for asking despite the possible proof that sat in his hand. Konan had cheated on him once before so he wouldn't put it above her, but she had assured him that she had changed. The very thought of his girl in another man's arms just made his heart hurt with pain, almost as if he'd been stabbed.

Konan glared at pain with tears watering her eyes. "I can't believe you'd ask that, Pein. You know I wouldn't do that after the last time…You're so paranoid about every little text message now. I can't talk to anyone without you accusing me of cheating on you."

Pein glanced at the phone in his hand with a saddened gaze. He was so hurt and confused—he didn't know _what _to think. The message wasn't explicit or anything, just a guy talking to her. Maybe she was right, maybe he was being paranoid. But she had cheated on him before and once a cheater, always a cheater right? Sighing, he handed her the phone and pulled her in for a hug. When her tears dripped onto his shirtless chest, he held her tighter.

"I'm sorry," he muttered as he kissed the top of her head. "I'm jumping to conclusions again, but it's hard because every time I hear your phone ringing I'm thinking it's that guy asking you to meet up with him again."

Konan didn't say anything, just held onto Pein for dear life. But instead of listening to his long-winded and very infrequent apology, she was replying to a certain text message.

_I'll see you tomorrow night._

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—4:30 PM Friday July 26, 2013—Yamanaka Residence, Rockaway**_

Ino smiled at Sakura as the dark purple and gray makeup trunk sitting beside her spilled open with a _clunk_. She pulled out a claw-clip and had Sakura pull her hair up and out of her face. Gently, she set her hands against her face and brushed her thumbs over the surface of her skin. "Your skin is dry," she said. "I'll be right back!"

Ino ran out of the room and Sakura heard her climbing up the stairs, her feet drumming against the carpet and hardwood as if she was running for her life. Sakura fidgeted a bit and began absentmindedly twirling slivers of hair that spilled out of the messy bun. Ino seemed more than excited at the thought of giving her a little makeover, and she was actually pretty excited about it herself. When Ino came back, she was holding a glass bottle of olive oil and went off searching for a towel. She dragged Sakura into the bathroom and started the shower. When Sakura noticed the shower, she began to pale at the thought of having to take it with Ino sitting beside her.

"Alright Forehead, take the shirt off. We need to wash your hair," she instructed. Pink-faced, Sakura obeyed and pulled off the loose shirt to reveal her mint green and chocolate pin-striped bra. In the center was a little chocolate colored bow and white lace traced along the 'V' of it. Ino squealed when she saw it. "Where did you get that? It's so cute!"

Sakura looked away in embarrassment and crossed her arms over her chest to block Ino's view from her chest. Before she could answer, Ino then began asking about the "adorable" navel ring that glittered against the bright bathroom lights. Sakura answered every question Ino asked which ranged from "where did you buy that bra" to "when did you get that piercing" only to suddenly jump away when Ino asked her to kneel in front of the tub. She looked horrified, much to Ino's surprise, and pressed her back against the cold wall like a trapped rat. "I don't think we need to wash my hair, really Ino. It's fine."

Ino noticed her discomfort and gave a sly grin that made Sakura extremely suspicious. "Don't be shy; we're both girls here after all Sak."

Sakura shook her head. "Ino you don't understand…I don't want you to see something…"

Ino tilted her head to the side in confusion. "What is it Sakura?" She really didn't want to pry because Sakura seemed so adamant about the subject, but she was a curious person. Gossip was almost like a hobby for her; she was always in the know. But she never wanted to pressure people for information and only accepted what came. She didn't know a lot about Sakura, but from what Tayuya and Fubuki told her, the third pinkette had a pretty hard time back in Suna. When Sakura refused to answer, realization slowly sunk over her. "Sakura I know what happened back in Suna…about the abuse…" she said slowly and gently. "It's okay; I won't judge you or anything."

Hesitantly, Sakura moved away from the wall and knelt in front of the tub. Her heart felt like it was in her throat, obscuring her airways. She felt so excited and worried at the same time. When Ino moved behind her, she waited for the loud gasp of shock but instead found Ino gently pressing her fingers to her back.

"Wow," she breathed when she saw the many scars. "That asshole had no right to touch you Sakura. I'm sorry."

Sakura's milky white back had small gray smears and light pink streaks peppered around her shoulders and upper back. They weren't terribly ugly, but still rather unattractive. The lines were clean, sharp and in clear patterns of four to five—fingernails. The gray smears were round at one end and tapered off at the other—cigarette burns. Ino felt so angry when she saw them; when Sakura's cousins told her Sakura had been abused by her ex and that they all needed to tread carefully with certain things, she wasn't as upset. But seeing them was like a slap to her face. These scars were the remnants of her abuse and would stay with her for a long time if not forever.

"Sakura I think my mom has some cream for this," Ino said, "they help fade scars and stretch marks. If you want I can get some for you."

Sakura silently let out the shaky breath she had been holding out of pure relief. Ino didn't say anything about her back or tease her about it like she thought she would. That was a good sign. And the fact that the blonde was willing to help her make them fade away was even better! "Please Ino," she asked with a smile. Ino quickly ran out of the room and to her parents room, then back. She set the jar on the counter then pulled the detachable showerhead from its holder and dipped Sakura's head over the edge to wash it. Whatever soaps she used smelled absolutely wonderful; it was fruity and now flowery, but not overly aromatic. What was that scent—kiwi?

"You know you have big boobs," Ino commented in a thoughtful voice. Sakura looked at her with a stunned expression, and gradually both girls began laughing. "I don't see why you cover up your body with such baggy clothes."

Sakura shut her eyes when Ino poured in a second coating of conditioner. "If you haven't noticed, I've got a big stomach. I'd rather wear the baggy clothes to cover it up."

"But if you wear loose shirts, it only makes you look wider. If you wear something more form fitting and tone flattering it'll actually look really good on you. I'll see if I can find something in my room that you can wear."

"I can't ask you to do that," Sakura interjected. Ino had her close her guys again as she brought the showerhead to her again. "That's asking too much."

Ino snorted and waved one hand to dismiss her comment. "Please; I can't have you walking around looking like that. If you're going to be one of us, you gotta look like one of us! You're already halfway there with the pink hair!" She grinned slyly, "Besides, you might catch some eyes if you know what I mean, yeah."

Sakura laughed sincerely at Ino's statement and didn't bother to argue any further with the blonde. She had ways of getting what she wanted regardless of the victim so there was no real point arguing back now was there? When Ino finished washing out her hair she wrapped the soft pink locks in a towel that was hanging on the rack and hurried her back to the room in case someone came home. She really didn't want anyone to see her with only a bra and pants on, now did she?

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Hey Ino, who made all those paintings upstairs? I've been meaning to ask," Sakura suddenly asked as Ino brushed out her slightly-damp hair. "They're really nice."

Ino furrowed her brows and pinned her hair up with a claw clip. She crawled in front of Sakura and began rubbing an ice cube over her face followed by a dry towel, then a cotton ball smothered in olive oil on it. "My brother did; he's an artist. As much as I hate my brother I can't deny that I'm jealous of his art skills." She set the cotton ball down and pulled out an eyeshadow pallet. "Close your eyes."

Sakura hesitated then. She really wanted to ask why Deidara was so cynical and hostile towards them. Sure, she's heard of sibling rivalry and Deidara was friends with a girl from a rival squad, but still. Sasori was never _that_ mean to her, and neither were her other brothers before they died. In fact, they were more protective of her than anything. But instead of asking, Sakura just mentioned how Sasori was an artist too. She told Ino about how Sasori did a lot of graffiti and designed skateboard decks every now and then when he had time. "But his "real art" is skating," Sakura added, "skating is an art form in his eyes. He said something about it being an urban art form, being one with the city and seeing it in a different light or something like that. He made it sound so poetic and artistic, really."

Ino chuckled lightly and began blending the cherry red and black eyeshadow together. "That sounds like Deidara. He says the same thing about surfing. Back when we lived in Hawaii, all he did was surf. He'd spend the entire day out on the water and only come home to sleep and eat. Total beach bum if you ask me. But when he's bored he makes these really cool paintings like the ones upstairs. Never sells them though, I don't know why. Stop tilting your head backwards."

"You speak so highly of him," Sakura muttered as Ino tilted her head forwards.

A sigh of exasperation escaped Ino's lips as she began lining Sakura's eyes with her liquid eyeshadow. "Well he's my brother. As much as I can't stand him, I love him."

"Why is he such a…" She trailed off. She wasn't sure whether calling him a name would be a good thing or not. After all, Ino did say she still loved him.

Ino just continued on her thought dryly. "A jerk, ass, dork, bully—take your pick. He's always been like that." She set the eyeliner down and picked up the eyeshadow pallet. She dipped a tiny, sharp-angled brush in a cap of water then brushed it over the cherry red eyeshadow. "Just keep your eyes closed. Deidara and I just fight all the time. When we were kids everyone picked on him because we're twins and he looked feminine and acted like a wimp—a total crybaby. Even family teased him about being a girl. So you can imagine how mad he was."

Ino brushed the bright red beneath her eye, along the black trail of eyeliner and went on her rant about Deidara as if she didn't have a care in the world, but Sakura could see the annoyance on her face. Then, she hesitated. Her lip dipped beneath her tooth and she furrowed her brows as if she wasn't sure whether or not to say anything.

"…did you know Deidara's hair use to be longer than mine?" Sakura thought back to Deidara's hair the first time she saw him back at the warehouse. It was long, yes, and reached his shoulder blades. She couldn't even imagine it being longer than Ino's hair—she couldn't imagine it any longer at all! When Sakura shook her head in disbelief, Ino just nodded slowly. "I tell you—he had this beautiful mane of hair that reached his hips."

"What happened to it?"

"When we moved here in fifth grade, he spent all his time at the beach and hung out with this guy named Tobi." Hearing Tobi's name, Sakura blushed. Ino noticed and had a felt her lips twitch into a smirk but didn't say anything about it. She went on to the next eye. "Sophomore year, Tobi went on to joining the hockey team and tried getting Deidara to join but he refused to because of Tobi's cousins Madara and Itachi. They were total punks—always picked on Deidara for almost everything. They didn't like each other for some weird reason—I blame it on testosterone—but anyway, Deidara just pushed the punking too far."

"What happened?"

"Deidara challenged Itachi on a downhill race down Devil's Slide. You can open your eyes."

"W-what's Devil's Slide," Sakura asked with a stunned expression. Just the sound of it made it seem like a terrifying experience. Ino pulled out a bottle of dark pink lip gloss and tilted Sakura's head upwards so she could look into Ino's pretty blue-green eyes.

She just gave a tired smile. "Devil's Slide is a hill on the far side of south-west Konoha, bordering Ame. It has sharp turns, is at a 70-degree angle and is only two lanes wide. They made an agreement; if Deidara made it down first, they all had to leave him alone and Itachi had to quit the team. If Itachi won then Deidara had to join and cut his hair."

Sakura's eyes widened in realization and she pressed a hand to her mouth to hold back the gasp. Ino batted it away whining about how she smeared the lipgloss and began reapplying it. She realized that Deidara had lost. If Deidara grew his hair out that long, he obviously had a reason for it—either he obsessed about his hair or it was a personal, spiritual or artistic reason. And for him to cut it off…that must've really hurt his ego.

"So you can see why he's always so grumpy," Ino sighed. "Itachi was the one who cut it. He cut it to his shoulders and let me tell you—that was a total disaster."

"But why is he so mean to everyone else? Like Naruto and _me_?"

Ino snorted and pulled the clip out of Sakura's hair so it spilled down to her shoulders in wavy streams of pink. "That is a story for another day, Forehead. But long story short, it's their girlfriends' fault."

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—3:30 PM July 26, 2013—Akatsuki Arcade, Ocean Avenue**_

"Hey Peter Pan when did you get here?"

Sasori just greeted Hidan with a pound-hug, noticing the redness that encircled his magenta eyes. He didn't say anything about it but just answered his question with an indifferent shrug. He, Deidara and the Uchihas had returned to the front entrance when Sasori and Deidara's game finished, only to be greeted by Zetsu, Kisame (who had arrived not too long after Sasori), Kakuzu and Hidan.

"So uh did you and Blondie kiss and makeup," Kisame asked while eyeing Deidara. The blond was sucking on a lollipop and gave the tall boy a glare that was one worthy of an Uchiha but the teen only laughed. "I'll take that as a yeah."

"Not entirely," Itachi cut in with an arrogant smirk. "_Blondie_ has to apologize to _Pinky_." All attention was on the blonde now; all expressions were one of surprise except for Itachi who just held that annoying smirk that made girls throw themselves at his feet. His face turned pink and he quickly busied himself with picking at the ends of his hair.

"Well this'll be interesting," Pein said as he entered the arcade with Tobi at his heels. "So Deidara what are you going to do to _apologize_ to her?"

Everyone looked at him with a devilish smirk, all with the exception of Sasori. Deidara didn't like that smirk at all. He knew what he had to do. It was one of many _traditions _for the group: if they pissed off a girl, as decided when they all became friends—the offended female has permission to deliver a kick to the male genitalia.

Deidara blanched at the very thought of it and didn't even bothering answering. He'd never had to do it before. Every time he pissed off one of the girls that circled their group, Aya never let them do it and just accepted a vocal apology. Hidan, on the other hand, suffered it so many times that they thought he'd never have babies. Hell, the argent-haired dude even let Konan kick him in the nuts for her birthday! Tradition was a big thing in their group and they went through with all of it without a problem. For example, every day at least one person visited Nagato in the hospital, and every birthday the entire group came in. Every semester end, they burned all their work in a bonfire and every visit to an eatery they tilted the condiments on the very edge—it's just what they did. And speaking of which…

Deidara smirked, "So Sasori you ready for your little "welcome" gift yeah?"

Pein's eyes lit up and he put an arm around a confused Sasori's shoulders. "That's right; I forgot about that. Thanks Deidara. Come on Sasori, it's time to meet my brothers Yahiko and Nagato."

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—6:20 PM July 26, 2013—Yamanaka Residence, Rockaway—the bathroom**_

"There, all done."

Ino stepped back and examined Sakura one last time. The pinkette had messed up her makeup by rubbing her eye and Ino ended up having to redo it. She reached around the blushing pinkette and picked up the black comb and hairspray bottle and quickly adjusted Sakura's hair one last time before squealing loudly in excitement.

"You look so cute," she complimented as she brushed a lock of hair away from her face. Ino gave her a truly pleased smile and hugged her tightly. Ino didn't hesitate for a second and crushed her tightly to her curvy body, careful to avoid messing up the hair she spent so much time on.

"Thanks Ino! I've never felt so…good in a long time!"

Ino laughed and took Sakura's hand in hers. "Honey, if I were a boy or into girls, I'd be _all over _you! Now come on, Kiba will be here any second!"

They ran out of the bathroom and grabbed their jackets (and Ino's duffel bag) and hurried down to the fist level to slip on their shoes (in Sakura's case, a pair of boots Ino lent her) then waited outside. After just a few minutes of waiting, a dark colored van veered around the corner and screeched with the burning tires. It slowed to a halt across the street from Ino's house and the girls were quick to cross and jump into the van. Once situated, Kiba turned to greet Sakura with a whistle.

"Damn," he laughed, "You look great. Good job Ino."

Sakura just smiled at him while Ino laughed and kissed his cheek. "Thanks Kiba."

"Yeah yeah, enough with the thanks and let's go! The Cherry Bombshells have some asses to kick!"

**.**

**.**

**.**

Tayuya checked her watch for what seemed like the one hundredth time in the past twenty minutes. Kiba was running late _again_ and she really wanted to see Sakura beforehand! She and Fubuki barely got to see her because Sasuke and Naruto have been hogging her all week, and frankly she was beginning to get jealous. When Ino said she was hanging out with the pinkette, Tayuya wanted to go over and hang out too, but decided it'd be best to give them bonding time. So here she was, standing at the front of the warehouse with Fubuki and the rest of their friends. It was a large group, really, and they were all chatting loudly about stupid and probably unimportant things.

"Leave it to Ino to be "fashionably late"," said a girl with her hair in a pair of spiky buns. Her black shirt gripped her thin body and stopped at her navel; her jean shorts hung low on her hips and her boots laced up her knees. She was in the arms of her boyfriend, a boy with long black hair in a loose half-ponytail that spilled over his shoulders like an inky waterfall with a white bandana around his forehead that bore a strange symbol on it. His jacket was zipped all the way to his chin so his shirt went unseen, but his black skinny jeans were decorated with tears and strips of cloth tied around each leg.

A girl with long black hair snorted and shoved her hand into her camouflage pants. She leaned against the wall and offered a feral smirk while a boy with spiky black hair put an arm around her green-clad shoulders. "What do you expect—it's Ino?"

Another boy with crimson hair just threw his arms to cross over his chest and let a bored sigh escape his pierced lip. Naruto wrapped an arm around his shoulders with a large grin and pulled in the blonde girl beside him. "Awe c'mon guys don't be so grumpy! If anything, its Kiba's fault they're late!"

The blonde girl pushed Naruto's arm off of her and walked off towards a boy clad in simple black shirt and pants with his hair tied up in a ponytail. He gave a tired moan of "how troublesome" and draped an arm around her waist. Sakon and Ukon flanked Sasuke's sides and talked to a boy with dark brown, shaggy hair that wore purple "war-paint" on his face and another boy with black, spiky hair and shades about something that happened to Naruto the other day.

Tayuya just drowned them out and hastily texted Ino. It was almost 6:45 and they needed to get into the locker rooms and change before the game started. Ino had a terrible habit of being late, unfortunately, and really hoped her cousin didn't catch it.

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—6:45 PM July 26, 2013—Sarutobi Hospital **_

"Alright we're going to head out now. Bye Yahiko," Pein said as he gave a pound-hug to his older brother. He turned to Nagato who was sitting upright in the bed. "Bye Nagato; we'll see you again soon."

When Pein released the redhead from a hug, Sasori moved forward and gave him a handshake. He wasn't comfortable hugging people and had politely explained that to Nagato. The other redhead completely understood and respected that and didn't ask him to do anything. After leaving the arcade in Deidara's truck, they all went to the hospital to visit Nagato and were lucky to find that Yahiko, Obito and Kakashi were also there so it made introductions that much easier. He found himself actually liking the group; they seemed close-knit, friendly (to an extent) and essentially pretty funny—he wouldn't get bored of them any time soon. Not only that, but since Pein's older brother was a tattoo and piercing artist, he could go to him for his inking desires, and because Kakashi was the guy Sasuke had told him to go to if he needed a fresh supply of weed.

"Sasori for that tattoo we talked about, come by my shop when you're officially on the team," Yahiko said as Sasori gave him a goodbye handshake. "I'll give you a discount."

With one last goodbye, the group exited the room and crammed into the two elevators. It was mostly quiet, at least until Tobi asked if Deidara was ready to apologize to their newest friend's younger sister. Everyone inside his elevator erupted into laughter with the exception of the implicated blonde who just stuffed his hands in his pockets. Izuna set a hand on his shoulder as he laughed at his expense.

"We don't even know where she is," Deidara reminded, hoping he'd be able to get by another day without having to lose feeling in his lower regions. Unfortunately, everyone knew his poor excuse was exactly that—a poor excuse, so they didn't fall for it.

"My sister is with your sister," Sasori reminded. "Tayuya sent me a text inviting me to watch their game. Odds are she's there."

"Are you sure it's a good idea heading over there? You know how the girls get when we're there," Kakuzu muttered. Over the past several hours, Sasori was told the "do's and don'ts" of the group; one of these "don'ts" included being around a certain group of girls—the Cherry Bombshells—or any derby girls in general. Being around them was suicide, basically, so to brazenly march in not expecting their girlfriends to find out was pretty stupid. But Sasori really didn't care.

"No girl can tell me what to do," Sasori said with a snort. "We're going. And you better hope she's in a good mood today."

**Pinky Bruiser**

_**Normal POV—6:50 PM July 26**__**th**__**, 2013—the Warehouse, Cherry Street**_

"Sorry we're late guys!"

Everyone looked up or turned around at the shrill voice that could only belong to their beloved Ino Yamanaka. She was standing on the left side of Kiba who had his arms around both him and a certain pink haired girl. The pinkette blushed slightly at their gazes and waved her hand in greeting. Tayuya and Fubuki were absolutely stunned at the sight before them. Sakura was dressed in a form-fitting, black tube-top that was obscured by a thick, vertical red stripe that slipped down the center with black lace on top, and stopped just above her bellybutton to reveal the pretty piercing. Around the natural curve of her waist sat a black belt with two large roses hiding the clasp. Her black skinny jeans clung to her legs neatly and were tucked into the black combat boots Ino let her borrow. Her bright emerald eyes were lined thickly in black with dark red eyeshadow peaking at the edges and swiped beneath her eyes. Her pink hair was left down, bangs draped straight across her forehead, and the shorter layers were teased to spike towards the back of her head. Her side-bangs were straightened to a pin so her industrials and stretches were revealed.

All in all, she looked like an art piece—a girl who stood out in a society of conformity; a splotch of crimson on an all-white canvas…a young girl who found her confidence in a whirl of black and red. Fubuki was the first to recover from the shock and set a hand around Sakura's waist with a small smile on her face.

"Guys, meet our cousin Sakura."

**Author's Note (Amaya)**

**Well that's the end of this chapter. We're introduced to a few more characters, Sakura gets a little makeover, Sasori meets the rest of the Akatsuki, Sakura learns about Ino and Deidara's relationship and why he's such a douche **_**and**_** Deidara is on his way to go apologize to Sakura. Lots of beautiful things, isn't aren't there?**

**Just so you know this will be a somewhat long story. The story will be anywhere between 25-35 chapters (if that's too long…too bad?) and a lot more action will happen as of next chapter. To clear things up:**

**Yes, Deidara and Sakura are the pairing so this is a DeiSaku fic.**

**No, Sakura is not going to participate in the game this chapter. She's hasn't made her decision yet on if she wants to join or not.**

**Yes, they will be going back to school soon. Lots more drama and action will be happening then.**

**So if you will please review, Aiko and I would appreciate it!**

Author's Note (AIKO)

So Amaya sent me this chapter and I edited it for her, but there's something I need to add that's very important. Amaya will probably kill me  
for telling you guys this but this chapter was very emotional for Amaya when she wrote it, especially the beginning about Sakura's birth mom. It's a bit personal for the two of us  
so I'm surprised she actually wrote this. Now feel free to tell Amaya I wrote this note (she'll find out eventually) but you guys should know that Amaya had actually cried  
as she wrote the beginning. She used her own personal memories for Sakura's POV, so it really impacted her. Same with Sakura's scars from her abuse; those scars are  
modeled after Amaya's scars. Those of you readers who had been reading our stories since 2009 (we know who you are), probably remember that Amaya spent several months in a hospital recovering from an abusive relationship which was why she stopped writing for 7 months. As you can imagine, she was pretty emotionally affected by just writing this. So I really do hope she gets some reviews for this chapter because she almost deleted it.

So can we get some good reviews to let her know how happy we are and how much we appreciate her?


End file.
